Dedicated to: Erin319! Your review was incredibly hilarious and I loved it so much! Salute Horses also approves. OMG I'm still laughing…

AND ALSO DEDICATED TO AMAZING GRACE, HAPPY BELATED BIRTHDAY! =D She's among my most faithful reviewers, and she is also the most dedicated Barcelona fan I have ever had the good fortune to meet. I'm so glad we're besties now! Yay!

I'm so sorry about the wait everyone, but Fanfiction had a huge whiney tantrum with this chapter. I tried splitting the chapter in half, reformatting it, everything! But it just wouldn't load. So I had to retype the whole damn thing. T_T I was so mad. Thank you for all of your support though- I truly appreciate it.

And I'm extremely tired. I just spelled 'ridiculous' as 'ridulous' and wondered why spell check was flipping out. (AKA EPIC FAIL)

"Max! Max! Max! Max!" Nudge bounced on her heels at my side, already showered and fully dressed after the two-hour practice Anne had tortured us with.

I sat up from where I had been digging through my locker for my second sneaker. "Nudge! Nudge! Nudge!" I mimicked.

Nudge grinned, then immediately started talking. "Do you want to-"

"No," I answered immediately, going back to searching for the sneaker. I covered a smirk as I sensed Nudge's frustration with me growing.

"Max!" she whined, right on cue. "Let me finish!"

"Why should I?" I demanded bluntly. "You only ask me crap questions that I'm forced to say yes to anyway because you unleash your Bambi eyes on me!"

Nudge pouted at me. "Soooo not true. I totally do not do that at all, ever!" she declared, shaking her head emphatically at me.

"Really?" I challenged her, raising an eyebrow.

"Really," Nudge confirmed, still looking adamant about her innocence/

"What about when you made me buy you those purple heels 'cause you didn't have enough cash to buy them yourself?" I asked, pulling my shirt on over my head.

Nudge twisted the hem of her skirt in her fingers, suddenly faltering in her conviction that she never made me do anything for her with her Bambi eyes.

So the truth comes out.

"And when you made me wear that swimsuit instead of my own?" I added, narrowing my eyes suspiciously.

"But yours was a one piece!" Nudge argued, looking honestly shocked. "You can't wear one pieces Max! You have too great of a body to wear those horrible things!"

I rolled my eyes, continuing my list instead of replying to her ridiculous comments. "And then you made me go up to that Python player yesterday and tell him that I didn't like the way he was staring at my girlfriend!"

Nudge burst out laughing at that one. "ZOMG, but you have to admit that that was hilarious! The look on his face!" Nudge gasped, doubling over and clutching at her stomach.

"My point still stands," I replied primly, trying not to laugh. I had to admit that her dare had been funny, and the look on Fang's face when I did it had also been totally priceless. I was fairly sure he had actually thought that I was secretly dating Nudge for a moment before he realized how improbable that was. It didn't make any sense if you knew either of us, especially considering that I had been continuously encouraging Danny to ask her out, but the Python victim didn't know that.

Speaking of which, Danny still hadn't asked yet. He had no reason to worry about being rejected, as I had assured him numerous times, but he kept hesitating for some reason. It was beginning to get on my nerves, especially since Nudge was always sighing about him now. The two of them needed to stop being cowards and get together already.

"Well trust me Max, you'll want to do this," Nudge promised, bringing me back to the present conversation. "I won't even have to use the Bambi eyes!"

"Nudge, yesterday was a joke. I'm straight. I like guys," I said immediately. I held up one of my cleats in defense between Nudge and I. I was only half-dressed after all- vulnerability here!

Nudge facepalmed. "Wow, really Max? You're so deep in the gutter that it's a miracle you're visible at all," she remarked. "I was going to offer you a babysitting job with Gazzy's adorable little sister."

I was immediately interested. "Her name is Angelique, right?" I asked. "Fang told me she's besties with Maria."

Nudge nodded. "Those girls are so close that you couldn't fit a sheet of paper between them," she confirmed. "It's very rare when they're either not with each other or talking about each other. It's like they're sisters, almost."

"So Angelique needs babysitting? When?" I asked, my curiosity piqued.

Nudge grinned, knowing that I was hooked. After all, everyone I knew who had met Gazzy's sister gushed wildly about her. I was curious to see the girl for myself. "Call her Angel. She prefers it," Nudge advised me. "And she needs babysitting in about forty minutes. Fang and I were going to babysit while Angel's parents went out to dinner and I figured the more the merrier. Mr. and Mrs. Richards don't mind, and Angel loves new people."

"And why exactly can't Gazzy take care of his own sister?" I wondered aloud. It didn't make sense to me that Nudge and Fang were babysitting instead of Gazzy.

Nudge grimaced. "Gazzy is the worst babysitter in the world," she informed me bluntly. "And when I say worst, I mean that he feeds kids Cocoa Puffs and soda for dinner, then takes them outside and plays soccer with them until the parents come home."

I raised my eyebrows. "Really?"

"Really," Nudge confirmed. "It's slightly frightening. So the Richards' don't want to risk their daughter's health with Gazzy, and usually Fang and I volunteer to babysit instead. Gazzy has plans with Vlasis tonight anyway, so he won't be there."

"How long?" I asked as I zipped up my jacket. I bent over to tie my shoes, my hair falling against my face.

"Around six to ten, and I promise to feed you," Nudge replied.

I thought for a moment. It would be cool to hang out with Nudge and Fang, and I did really want to meet Angel. "Do you want me to ask Ella too?" I offered. "She'd probably love to join us."

"I already asked her, but…" Nudge paused, then grinned wildly and sang, "she has a date with Iggggyyyy!"

"With Iggy? Really? She didn't say anything to me!" Somehow, I was only slightly shocked by this news. Ella had been acting weirdly secretive all day, and Iggy had been grinning wildly throughout history. "So he really dug up the guts to ask her out?"

Nudge nodded, smirking happily to herself. "After much soul searching, Iggy decided to ask her to dinner," she crowed. "I'm so proud of my boy! He's all grown up!"

I rolled my eyes. "I thought Iggy was the player of the freshman class. Surely he's had female contact before?"

Nudge shook her head. "This is different. He really likes Ella- I can tell," she whispered, suddenly serious.. "All of those other girls meant practically nothing to him. The player title gave him someone to be. Iggy loves to act. But when Ella came…" Nudge trailed off, then shot up off the bench and started yelling, "BOY, HE WAS STARSTRUCK! SHE WOKE HIM UP DAILY! DON'T NEED NO STARBUCKS!"

"Nudge, SHUT UP!" I screamed, clapping my hands over my ears. "If you dare to quote Justin Bieber in a scenario regarding my sister and Iggy ever again, I will be forced to attack you," I promised.

Nudge giggled, then skipped out of the locker room. "I'll wait for you outside. Fang is getting impatient," she called to me from the door.

"Yes'm!" I yelled back, pulling the laces tight on my sneaker. After they were secure on my feet, I grasped my hair firmly and trapped it back in a ponytail. I glanced in the window to the coach's office to check my reflection, adjusting my hoody with one hand before heading out the door.

Fang and Nudge were quietly talking at one end of the hall. Nudge's normally bubbly face was looking uncharacteristically serious as she spoke. "I can't think of why she's so adamant about it, it's obvious she likes you! Ella said that there's a reason, but she won't tell me until-"

"Chill Nudge," Fang interrupted. I saw his eyes flicker over to me as he spoke. "Just take a deep breath and calm down."

"Whatcha talking about?" I asked curiously, popping up in front of them.

Nudge jumped slightly, obviously startled by my appearance. Fang, however, simply looked at me calmly. "The game yesterday," Fang replied readily. "How Rosanna totally demolished number twelve."

"Oh yeah! That was hilarious," I laughed, smiling at the memory. "So now it's only 5:30, and we're babysitting at six, right?" I continued, changing the subject back to the task at hand. "What do you guys want to do for half an hour?"

Nudge shrugged. "We can grab some food at my place," she suggested. "Gazzy's house is about seven minutes from mine, so we can get food from mine and head directly over to Gazzy's. Angel might want to go swimming at my house later though, because she loves my pool, so we will probably be doing a lot of going back and forth."

"That sounds like a plan then," I remarked. "I'm hungry, so let's go!"

Nudge pranced along in front of Fang and I on the way to her house, chattering freely about anything and everything that happened to cross her mind. I let myself relax into the scene, smiling as a breeze blew gently against my face, tugging at my hair. I glanced over at Fang only to find that he was intently studying me. The brooding expression on his face startled me slightly, but I tried not to show it as I grinned at him. "Are you drinking in my ultimate beauty, Fangles?" I teased, tossing my ponytail dramatically.

Fang smiled slightly, his dark eyes staying intense as they locked on my own brown ones. "Yes," he replied simply, before settling his hands in his pockets and turning to face forward.

Well then.

My lips turned up in a smile of their own accord. Fang always knew exactly what to say.

Five minutes later saw us barging unceremoniously into Nudge's house and storming the kitchen. Tanya came in after a few minutes, quietly watching as we raided her pantry for snacks "I take it no one has fed you kids yet?" she guessed, smiling teasingly at us.

Nudge shook her head. "Nope, they haven't! It's a horrible crime you know, since the first rule of every parent should be to always promptly feed their starving soccer player children! And once we have finished filling our tummies, we are off to babysit dear Angelkins!"

Tanya's smile grew. "Lucky kids you are, that's for sure, getting such a cute kid to babysit. Are you bringing Maria with you Fang?" she queried.

Fang shook his head, smiling slightly at Nudge's mom. "She's already there," he explained. "I'm taking her home after we've babysat."

Tanya nodded. "That makes sense," she agreed. "You better be off then. It's almost six o'clock!"

Nudge grabbed a bag of chips out of the cabinet and slammed the door shut. "Let's go team, move out!" she cried, slinging the bag over her shouldr and racing for the door.

I looked over at Fang. He shrugged, then started calmly after Nudge. "Bye Tanya," I said, grinning at Nudge's mom. "Thank you for the food!"

"No problem, Max. I hope your eye is feeling better soon," she replied, wincing sympathetically as she swept a critical look over my bruised eye.

"It's almost good as new," I assured her. "Thanks again!" I called over my shoulder as I hurried after Nudge and Fang.

When I finally caught up to the duo, they were munching on the chips and talking about something in hushed voices.

"Do you think I should just come out and ask her how she feels about you?" Nudge was saying, sounding slightly desperate. "It's just painful to see you guys apart!"

Fang shook his head. "I know how she feels about it. I don't want to ruin our friendship over this."

"You don't know for sure until you ask!" Nudge argued vehemently.

"Ask what? Who are you guys talking about? And what's with the let's-leave-Max-out-of-our-conversations deal going on?" I asked, popping in between them and stealing the bag of chips.

Fang's face went curiously blank, but Nudge seemed unperturbed. "Max, I have a question for you," she told me, simultaneously trying to yank the chip bag out of my grasp. I kept a firm hold on it, popping several into my mouth at the same time.

"Nudge, this is not a good time," Fang interrupted smoothly. "Look, we're here."

I looked up to find myself standing in front of a large white house with a cluttered garage sitting in front and a torn up lawn to the side. I grinned, picturing Gazzy shredding the grass while he practiced his soccer moves. I was fairly sure this was an accurate thoughts, judging from the state of the lawn and Gazzy's passion for soccer.

We walked up the path between garage and lawn to the large brown front door. Just as I was about to ring the doorbell, the door sprang wide open and a very disheveled Gazzy came speeding out.

"THE BRITISH ARE COMING!" he yelled, glancing furtively back over his shoulder. "Wait, scratch that. MARIA AND ANGE ARE COMING, AND THEY'RE WAY WORSE!" Gazy yelled, leaping oveor the fence surrounding his yard and sprinting down the street.

"Nice to see you too!" I hollered after him. Gazzy raised his hand in greeting without looking backwards, obviously keen on fleeing the scene quickly. Within seconds, he was out of sight.

Just as I turned around, two small blurs came barreling out the door and slammed into Fang's and Nudge's legs. "Fang!" squealed the dark-haired blur, hugging said boy's legs in a death grip. "I drawed you a picture in school today! It's Lulu and you hugging!"

"Sounds great," Fang replied softly, smiling as he bent down and ruffled his sister's curls. "Did you say hi to Max and Nudge, Ria?"

Maria popped away from Fang and came speeding over to me, instantly flinging herself at my waist in greeting. "Max!" she cheered. "I missed you! You didn't come for dinner in years!"

"Maria, Ella and I were at your house yesterday. Remember?" I reminded her, grinning at her.

Maria blinked her wide brown eyes. "Oh yeah. I forgot," she admitted cheerfully, pushing her curls out of her face. "NUDGE!" she squealed, suddenly rocketing off of my legs and into Nudge.

That girl was so adorable it should be illegal.

The small blonde blur who had originally slammed into Nudge was now clinging to Fang, therefore leaving an open space for Maria to tackle Nudge. While everyone was occupied with greetings, I tried to get a good look at the blonde blur.

She was the spitting image of Gazzy, except in girl form. They had the same bright blue eyes, the same blonde hair, and the same mischievous, pert faces. "Hi. My name is Max," I said, kneeling beside her.

Angel looked at me regally for a moment, then broke out into a wide, gap-toothed smile and launched herself at me in a hug. "Hi Max! I'm Angel," she replied brightly. "are you gonna babysit me tonight with Fang and Nudge? Can we go swimming in Nudge's pool?"

I blinked, slightly startled by her enthusiasm. "Umm, I don't know Angel. You'll have to ask Nudge if you can swim in her pool."

Angel detached herself from me, looking thoughtful. "Good idea, Max. I'll do that now," she told me seriously. Then she launched herself at Nudge, clinging onto the leg Maria wasn't occupying. "Nudge! Can we go swimming in your pool? Pretty please?"

Nudge grinned. "Of course we can! We could go right now, if you want, and eat dinner at my house," she offered.

Maria and Angel spontaneously broke out into enthusiastic cheers.

"Sounds like a plan," Fang murmured, smiling quietly at his little sister. Maria didn't notice, since she was too busy dancing around with Angel, but I saw the smile. Fang was really a softie about his sister. That was one of the things I liked best about him, actually.

"Go get your suits, ladies!" Angel, can you give Maria a swimsuit to borrow? Fang, you can just wear those shorts and you'll be fine. And Max, you can borrow one of my swimsuits," Nudge directed. At her orders, Angel and Maria barreled back into the house and up a staircase, presumably to retrieve their swimsuits.

A petite blonde woman poked her head around a corner inside the house. She smiled when she spotted us outside her door. "Fang! Nudge!" she greeted them brightly. "And who is this?" she asked, her gaze roaming over my black eye, but thankfully not turning suspicious."

"I'm Max, Mrs. Richards," I supplied helpfully, smiling at her. "My family just moved to town about a month ago."

"Oh yes, Maximum Ride! Gazzy was telling us all about you," the lady exclaimed. "Call me Ariel please. I feel like I already know you, but I'm pleased to meet you formally, Max."

A tall man, also blond, walked around the corner attempting to button his shirt. He stopped when he saw us, smiling in greeting. "Hello, ladies and gentleman," he said cheerfully. "Are you poor kids going to take care of the devil child for my wife and I?"

Ariel elbowed the man. "George! Don't speak that way about your children!" she scolded.

George rubbed his arm, but did not appear to be remorseful in the least. "I swear that it is cosmic irony that my daughter's name is Angel," he confided in us. "She's a right demon when she wants to be."

"We know how to handle her George, don't worry," Nudge assured him. "You and Ariel should go enjoy yourselves while we take care of Angel and Maria."

"We know that they'll be in capable hands," Ariel replied with another smile. "Come on George, we're going to be late for our dinner reservations. Thank you again for babysitting!"

The couple hurried out the door and into their car, and disappeared down the street. At that exact moment, Angel and Maria came rushing back down the stairs, fully suited up in their swimming gear. Maria had on a bright green swimsuit paired with adorable pink goggles in the shape of hearts set over her eyes. Angel was wearing a pink swimsuit with green heart shaped goggles. "We match!" they announced proudly.

"Beautiful!" Nudge praised them. "My little fashion princesses in the making! Let's go now, shall we?" Nudge, Maria, and Angel all raced down the path and started running down the street.

I grinned at Fang. "And then there were two," I said ominously.

Fang rolled his eyes at me, silently locking the door before turning and walking down the path. I frowned slightly as I hurried after him.

"Is something wrong, Fangles? You're being even more abnormally silent than usual today," I observed.

Fang didn't break stride as he turned to look at me. "Nothing drastic," he replied vaguely. "We should hurry, or Nudge is going to drown our charges somehow and we'll be blamed for it." Fang broke into a run, and I obediently sped upt o keep pace with him.

When we arrived back at Nudge's house, Tanya was nowhere in sight. We walked through the silent house and into the backyard, which was notably much less silent.

Maria and Angel were squealing happily as they paddled about in the water. Nudge sat at the edge supervising, trying to keep away from the choppy waves the girls sent splashing towards her. When she Fang and I, she leapt up and raced over to where we were standing.

Nudge immediately grabbed my wrist and started pulling me backwards towards the house. "Fang, you're on lifeguard duty for a moment!" Nudge called to him. "Max and I are going to change! We'll be right back!"

Fang nodded silently and disappeared from view as we re-entered Nudge's house. She practically dragged me up the stairs into her room and threw a red bikini at my face.

I wrinkled my nose at the skimpy pile of fabric huddled in front of me. "You expect me to wear this in front of innocent children?" I asked dubiously, holding the bikini top up by one of its thin halter straps.

Nudge nodded vigorously. "Innocent? No. Children? Yes. Fang? Yes," she sang.

I could feel my face start to change to match the color of the bikini at the mention of Fang seeing me in this lovely (coughnotcough) swimsuit. Stupid facial reactions to thoughts linked with my bestie.

"Why?" I asked plaintively.

Nudge grinned at me as she picked out her own bikini, a neon pink one with the word LOVE stamped in green across the butt. "Because you're gorgeous and you have no other choice but to wear the swimsuit or die of agony as you watch us have fun in the pool?" Nudge suggested. "Put the swimsuit on, Max. I swear that it isn't going to bite you."

"It might," I grumbled. However, I didn't really want to risk incurring Nudge's wrath, considering she was still not fully over Iggy melting her makeup bag yesterday. Therefore, five minutes later found me wearing a red bikini that probably didn't have enough material to fully clothe a baby. Luckily, I managed to snag a pair of silver board shorts out of Nudge's closet, and pulled them on over the miniscule bottoms. Again, the board shorts were barely eight inches long, but they somehow managed to make me feel more comfortable than the bikini bottoms alone.

When Nudge and I made our appearance down at the pool again, Angel and Maria started clapping wildly. "You look hot!" Maria informed me gleefully. Angel nodded in fervent agreement, giving me a lopsided thumbs up.

"Uhhh…" I so eloquently replied. I was kind of distracted by the girls' reactions to the bikini. They were six! Where had they learned that from?

Fang.

When I turned to address (aka yell at) the suspected culprit of Maria's strange comment, however, I was met with a scorching black gaze so heated that I felt like I was going to topple over from the intensity of it. The source of the said gaze was, of course, Fang. He stood with his arms crossed over his bare chest, simply staring at me with those unreadable black eyes. Quickly, so quickly that I wasn't even sure it really happened, Fang's gaze flickered down over my body before returning almost instantly to my eyes. I could've sworn that I felt a heat wave rush through my body from his eyes boring into me.

I was speechless.

Luckily for me, Nudge covered my idiotic silence well with her chatter. "ZOMG Maria I totally agree with you! Red is such a great color for Max, don't you think? It's so awesome that our school soccer jerseys are red, even though on the Downpour our jerseys are blue and white and Max might be joining that team too, but she'll still wear red for our school games of course and I'm sure she'll look just as hot in blue and white too! ZOMG I'm so excited for that! Let's swim now though- Angel and Maria, I'll race you guys to the other end!" And with that, Nudge leaped into the pool and left me standing alone with Fang.

"So," I said weakly, trying to pull myself together. "What's cracking?"

Fang rolled his eyes, thankfully reducing the heat of his gaze so I wasn't burned alive. "My sanity," he replied cryptically.

"How so?" I asked, slightly confused by the strange comment.

Fang just looked at me.

"All right then, subject change," I joked feebly. "This is really awkward."

"Agreed." Fang nodded in acknowledgement, his eyes still locked on mine.

"Can you think of a tension breaker?" I asked. Privately, I felt that this was a rather one-sided conversation. Fang needed a course of Talking With Others 101. Direly.

Fang smiled suddenly, effectively freezing me in place as I stared at the phenomenon. He took advantage of my momentary petrification to haul me over his shoulder in a fireman's carry. A scream escaped my lips before I ould stop it, shrilly piercing the air before being abruptly silenced by the water enveloping my head. My dear bestie had jumped into the water with me slung over his shoulder like a sack of flour.

Fang is such a gentleman.

I kicked wildly at him, pounding his back with my fists and squirming in an attempt to break free of his hold. Fang didn't budge though, and kept us below the water for several long seconds before heading upward once more.

I gasped for air as soon as my head broke the surface, desperately sucking in lungfuls of oxygen. Fang popped up beside me, his hair plastered flat to his head and grinning at me like a fool.

"Die!" I rasped, shoving him away from me.

Fang actually laughed, and I was momentarily distracted by the sound before resuming my intentions of drowning him. I pushed his head down under the water, but he easily maneuvered away from me and swam to the edge of the pool. Grudgingly, I followed him, still coughing on water as I did so.

"What the hell was that for anyway?" I demanded, glaring at him. My black eye was stinging slightly from the chlorine, but I did my best to igmore it.

Fang shrugged. "You asked for a tension breaker. There you go," he explained easily. I could see that he was struggling to keep a straight face.

"I hate your idea of a tension breaker," I grumbled, trying desperately to casually adjust the bikini top. It was a stupid halter, and was starting to ride dangerously low as a result of our merry plunge into the pool. I had no intention of dying from mortification today, therefore I was doing my best to tighten the ties around my neck.

Luckily, Fang appeared not to notice my swimsuit malfunction, as he was preoccupied with watching Maria swim about with Angel. "They're good little swimmers, so we don't have to breathe down their necks," Fang remarked. "Especially Angel. She's always been an amazing swimmer, since she was literally two years old. We used to joke that she had gills."

"I wish I could swim that well," I sighed. "But I'm only a good swimmer when I'm prepared. So if someone throws me into a pool I'm a drowning elephant."

Fang smirked, turning to look back at me. "Poor Max. Do you want me to carry you?" he teased.

"That;s what started this whole thing in the first place," I pointed out. "You grabbed me and leaped into the pool like a lunatic."

"Well technically, that was your fault," Fang argued. "You asked for a diversion, I supplied you with one."

"Ohh, I know a diversion that Max and the little girls would love to play!" Nudge squealed, magically popping up beside me. I jumped, causing me to practically fly into Fang, my nose hitting his collar bone with a painful smack. His arms curled around me almost reflexively, and I was suddenly hyper aware of all of the places we were colliding. The bikini Nudge had forced on me meant that practically everywhere we touched was bare skin. Only the water separated our bodies.

I hadn't even realized I was this close to him to begin with.

Fang actually started laughing, the sound vibrating through his chest and permeating throughout me. "Thanks for the hug," he told me, his arms tightening around my torso.

I felt my lips turn up in an almost involuntary grin. Fang had a gift for making potentially horrifyingly awkward situations funny, thank the lord. I threaded my own arms around him, hugging him back for a moment. "You're welcome Fang," I replied calmly, like hugging my bestie half-naked in a pool was something totally normal that I did everyday.

Which I can assure you, it is not.

Although, it was kind of nice…

Before I could stomp on that thought with a harsh metaphorical cleat, Fang had released me and was lounging casually against the edge of the pool. "You were saying, Nudge?" he asked airily, like our little –umm, I'll call it an interaction- was commonplace.

Nudge grinned widely at us, looking as if she had just won the lottery. "We are going to have a water gun/swimming pool war," she announced brightly. "Maria, Angel and I against you and Max!"

Fang seemed suddenly paler than normal. "That's unfair," he protested. "Angel and Maria water fighting together are like Max and Gazzy playing soccer together!"

I raised an eyebrow at him. "Is that a compliment?" I asked skeptically.

Fang shook his head. "No, it's a fact. Maria and Angel can practically read each other's minds," he informed me. "It's creepy."

"Well, we can take them anyway," I decided. "That is, we can if we're using water noodles."

"Max, you don't understand," Fang tried to dissuade me.

Nudge looked ecstatic. "Great! Let's do this thing! All weapons are fair game! Starting… NOW!" she yelled, instantly diving underwater and swimming swiftly away from us.

"Max, you're an idiot," Fang muttered, backing slowly against the side of the pool.

I rolled my eyes. Fang was such a drama queen. "Come on, Fang! Show some spirit! It's us against two little girls and Nudge. How hard could this be?" I asked.

Fang just looked at me. "Yep. We're doomed," he predicted calmly.

That was when two six year old girls popped out of nowhere and gunned Fang and I straight in the faces.

O.o.O.o:O:o.O.o.O

"I never knew that water could hurt so much," I groaned, dragging myself onto a chair and flopping down face first. "Dear lord, I'm going to have so many bruises from your water guns that people will think my mother is abusive!"

Nudge giggled, high fiving Angel and Maria. The younger girls were perched on the ends of two other chairs, sipping glasses of lemonade out of fancifully twirly purple straws. They were basking in their overwhelming victory over Fang and I, breaking out into random giggle fits every ten seconds.

Here's a tip: if two adorable six year old girls with heart shaped goggles ever come up to you and offer to water fight, DO NOT AGREE. They will murder you. Painfully. Unmercifully. Shrieking with laughter all the way through.

Unfortunately I now know this from experience.

Fang was flopped on his back on the floor, his eyes closed and wet hair flopping over his eyes. The sun was hitting him in an impossibly perfect angle, as if it was purposely aimed to glorify Fang. I snorted by accident at this thought, causing Fang to open his eyes and stare at me questioningly.

By now it was about 8:00, and the picturesque sunlight was fading rapidly. Almost mid-dive, Maria abruptly stood up straight and announced, "I'm cold."

"Me too," Angel echoed. "Can we go inside now?"

I got up and helped Nudge herd the girls out of the pool. Fang was waiting by the edge, ready with towels to drape over their tiny shoulders. "Let's get you girls dried off," Nudge decided, leading them into the house. "Max, Fang, would you mind getting the yard cleaned up for me?" She gestured around at the mess of water guns, floaties, and balls that the girls had scattered about willy nilly.

"No problem," I told her, bending over and scooping up a tennis ball. "We'll be inside in five minutes."

"Great! Thanks you guys! I'll get the girls cleaned up," Nudge promised, disappearing inside. Fang silently bent down and plucked a vibrant pink noodle off the grass, tossing it into a trunk already half-filled with water toys. We worked quickly, silently, and the yard was pristine in no time. I threw the last water gun into the trunk, then straightened and looked over at Fang.

My gaze was immediately drawn to his stomach again. There was still that weird scratch on it, a dark zig zag across his abdomen. I walked over to where he was sitting down on a chair and sat beside him. "What's that?" I asked softly, poking his stomach right on the mark. Closer up, I could see that it wasn't just a scratch, but an old scar.

Fang grimaced when he saw what I was looking at. "War wound from 1776," he told me solemnly. "I took a knife to the stomach to save George Washington's life."

I smacked his bare shoulder, provoking a small grumble from him. "You weren't alive then, idiot," I reminded him. Fang smirked, but made no reply. "It's an acute angle," I realized, tracing the scar tissue almost subconsciously with one finger. Fang's stomach muscles tightened at my touch, but other that, that he didn't react.

"Math geek," he grunted at me. "Only you would notice the angle of my scar."

"Well, it is!" I insisted, grinning. "This angle is around forty-five to fifty degrees, if I'm correct." I traced the scar again, trying to ignore the fact that this closer view of Fang's stomach also showed the hard muscle of his abs.

Dear lord, Fang was ripped. How did a freshman manage to get a six pack?

I was so jealous. I wanted a six pack!

"Geek," Fang coughed, not so subtly, into his hand. I rolled my eyes and ignored him, choosing to study his scar further instead,

Fang's scar was certainly interesting. The first thin line horizontally crossed his entire stomach just above his hips, connecting at an acute vertice with another, shorter line. The second line went upwards across his stomach at about a forty five degree angle from the first, and halted just before his navel. The scar tissue was stark against his olive skin, and it was clearly an old wound. "How did you get this?" I asked again, tracing the scar. "It really is unusual."

Fang's eyes darkened, and he gently pushed my hand away from the scar. "It's no big deal, Max," he murmured, picking his shirt up off the chair and starting to pull it over his head.

I felt like it was a big deal, though. Not many teenagers have huge scars across their stomachs nowadays. Even though I could sense that it was a sore subject for Fang, I pushed further, praying that he wouldn't close up. "I want to know," I persisted, grabbing the hem of his shirt to prevent him from pulling it down. "Please?"

Then, something flashed in his eyes, and Fang looked away. He slowly started fitting hi arms throught the sleeves of his shirt. "No Max," he said softly, fumbling to pull the shirt down over his torso.

Fang was never clumsy.

I watched as he stood up, literally feeling him close off. I could sense his shell retracting around him. Fang wasn't going to tell me about the scar today, that was for sure. I felt a bit disappointed, but I could understand where he was coming from. Some stories were hard to share. I opened my mouth intending to tell him that. "Fang, I-"

And that was when my top fell down.

I screamed on instinct, instantly springing my arms around myself to cover my chest. Fang, of course, snapped his head up and stared urgently at me, obviously wondering why I had screamed. "Don't look!" I shrieked, kicking him in the shin while simultaneously bending my knees up to help cover my chest.

Fang instantly looked skyward, his face becoming curiously blank as he did so. "This is very awkward," he remarked, sticking his hands in his pockets.

Fang was the epitome of calm, even in this horribly nightmarish scenario.

I, on the other hand, was not calm in the least. The stupid flimsy halter ties of the bikini top had slipped out of the knot Nudge had tied, causing the top to fall completely forward from my body. While Fang appeared to simply be thoughtfully stargazing, I was scrambling to pull the top up and cover myself at the same time. "I hate bikinis," I growled, fumbling uselessly at the strings. "I can't tie the stupid halter back on!"

"Are you covered up?" Fang asked, his voice somehow soothingly emotionless.

"Yes," I replied shortly, feeling my cheeks redden with that awful blush Fang was so talented in bringing out of me.

Without another word, Fang moved closer and took the halter ties in both hands. Carefully, he pulled the strings tight and knotted them firmly around my neck. His hands lingered on the back of my neck for a moment, their warmth on my cold skin making me shiver slightly.

"Thank you," I murmured, feeling shy and awkward again.

Fang grinned suddenly, dazzling me yet again. "Anything to help a damsel in distress," he teased, bowing dramatically.

I grinned back, a bit surprised by this sudden open display. "Whatever, Sir Fangsalot," I retorted. Standing up, I pulled at the strings of the bikini again, making sure they were secure around my neck before walking towards the house. "Come on, Sir Knight, the ladies will be wondering what's taking so long."

Fang followed me back into the house. "We're done," he announced as we entered the kitchen. Nudge, Tanya, Angel and Maria were all sitting at the table. Nudge had changed clothes and had also dressed Angel and Maria in matching blue bird pajamas. The younger girls were happily cheeping to each other, and I could only guess that since they were wearing bird pajamas, they assumed that they too were birds.

The six year old mind is a fascinating place.

"What took you so long?" Nudge asked, raising an eyebrow questioningly at us. "It doesn't usually take that long to clean up the yard."

"Maria and Angel made quite a mess," Fang replied. I mentally sighed in relief, thankful that he wasn't going to spill about my top falling off. That was quite mortifying, and I didn't need two six year olds, Tanya, and Nudge laughing at my predicament.

"Should we take the girls back to Angel's house?" I asked looking at the yawning duo. "They look pooped."

"That's probably a good idea," Nudge agreed.

"Max said poop!" Maria whispered to Angel, giggling wildly.

Angel laughed, grinning back at Maria. "Poop!" she cheered. "Max should get soap in her mouth!"

"That won't be necessary," I cut them off quickly before they got too enthusiastic about the idea. "Come on ladies, let's hit the road!"

"Umm, Max?" Fang interjected. I looked at him expectantly, mid step towards the door. "Are you going to go around in that?" He pointed at me skeptically.

I looked down, and realized that I was still wearing the cursed bikini. "Oh yeah, whoops. I'll get changed, be right back!" I decided, rushing out of the kitchen and upstairs to Nudge's room.

Once I was fully dressed in my own clothes, we collected our giggling charges and marched them down the road. I t was already dark, but we figured we were safe enough, seeing as Fang was very intimidating at first sight alone, and that I could take out a guy like Ford without very much trouble at all. Plus, it wasn't like our neighborhood was a dangerous place anyway.

Once we reached the Richards' house, Angela and Maria ran directly inside and disappeared around a corner. Nudge and I left Fang in the front hall locking the door again and went to find where the girls had scurried off to.

They hadn't gone far. Angel and Maria were in the living room, snuggled under a blanket in the middle of a large leather couch. They were sitting facing a large television, and both turned to look at Nudge and I as we walked in. "Movie time!" Maria declared, waving a DVD case at us.

"How to Train Your Dragon!" Angel explained knowledgeably, pointing to the movie clutched in Maria's hand. "This is our favorite movie ever!"

"Okay then," I replied, taking the DVD from Maria. "We can watch a movie then."

Fang came in while I was fiddling with the DVD player. I didn't hear him at all, and almost punched him in the face when I turned around and found him directly behind me. "Fang!" I complained, pushing him out of my personal bubble.

Fang smirked, ignoring m whining. "Are we watching How to Train Your Dragon again?" he asked, peering at the TV screen.

"Yep," I confirmed. "I've seen it about eight times with Ella and my cousins."

"Same here," Fang said, picking up the remote and fast forwarding through the previews. "Maria and Angel love it."

"Hey, since you guys have seen it so many times and I haven't seen it at all, I nominate you two to make the food while the ladies and I watch the beginning!" Nudge declared. "Shoo! Go make us food, for we are hungering!"

"Yeah! Make popcorn! With lots of butter!" Angel added, pointing at us imperiously.

"I want hot chocolate!" Maria chirped.

"Food, hot chocolate and popcorn coming right up," I replied, following Fang out of the room. He obviously knew where he was going in the house, and we quickly ended up in a blue painted kitchen. Fang started rummaging around in cabinets, producing the materials necessary for our mission.

"I'm going to be kinda useless here," I admitted. "Ella has always said that I could find a way to make boiling water poisonous when I'm cooking."

Fang smiled slightly, not pausing as he set a popcorn maker and a tea kettle on the stove. "Just kick back and relax, Princess Max," he teased. "Luckily for you, I can cook."

I rolled my eyes, hopping up onto one of the counters and parking my butt. "I'll just sit here and watch then," I drawled, following Fang with my eyes as he moved confidently around the kitchen.

In almost no time at all, Fang had whipped up five mugs of steaming hot chocolate, heated a pizza, and filled a huge bowl with popcorn. He grinned at me, bowing deeply as I applauded his cooking skillage. "I am impressed," I remarked. "Cooking isn't a talent I expected out of you, Fangles."

Fang smirked. "I'm full of surprises," he replied mysteriously. Fang picked up two of the mugs and headed back towards the living room. "Now help me carry these."

It took us two trips to get all of the food to the living room, where Nudge, Angel, and Maria were cooing over the dragon Toothless on the screen. "He's so adorable!" Angel squealed, smiling lovingly at the screen. "I want him as a pet!"

Fang and I settled down nest to Angel and propped the popcorn bowl up in between her and Maria. I leaned back into the soft leather couch cushions and relaxed with my pizza and cocoa, trying to enjoy the movie.

However, I kept getting distracted from the Vikings by my dearest bestie. Fang's presence beside me was strong and comforting, and his leg pressed against mine was warm and solid. My eyes kept getting dragged away from the characters on the screen and to Fang's face instead. I felt strangely safe, sitting next to him here. Nothing could hurt me when I was with Fang.

I tried to snap myself out of that thought, slightly panicked. I couldn't trust anyone, not even Fang, with my heart anymore. Sam had taught me that. And as painful as that lesson had been, I now knew that I couldn't bare my heart again. It was too dangerous.

Then why was I suddenly wanting Fang to be holding me again, the way he had in my front yard a few nights ago?

I had to get out of here.

I stood up, setting my now empty mug on the coffee table. Everyone turned to look at me, their gazes inquisitive. "I need to… use the bathroom," I invented quickly, avoiding their eyes. I walked quickly out of the room, wandering in the hallway for a moment before I realized I didn't even know where the bathroom was in Gazzy's house.

I sighed, sliding down against the wall. I needed to get Fang off of my mind. I tried to refocus my thoughts.

Soccer. Soccer was good. Nudge wanted me to try out for the club team she, Sadie, and Liz played for- the Raine Valley Downpour. I had heard good things about the team, and I really did want to try out. Nudge told me she had talked to her coach about setting me up with a trial run. Raine Valley Soccer Club in general was a pretty esteemed club with a reputation for formidable teams. Gazzy and Fang both played for RVSC too-

I sighed again, putting my head in my hands. No matter what I tried to think of, my mind always circled back to Fang.

There's a reason for that, my mind whispered insistently. You're smart enough to figure it out, Max.

I shut out the little voice, shaking my head and standing up, I needed to get myself under control. "Contain your emotions, Max," I said aloud. "Nothing good will come out of them anyway."

I shook my head one more time, took a deep breath, and walked back into the living room.

O.o.O.o:O:o.O.o.O

"Thank you for babysitting Angel," Ariel told us, smiling at each of us in turn. "I know she can be a handful at times, but she loves you guys."

"Don't worry Ariel, we love her too," Nudge assured Angel's mom. "We're happy to babysit anytime!"

Ariel smiled again. "Here's your pay for tonight," she said, handing us each a white envelope. "Thank you again for taking such great care of Angel."

"It's no problem," Fang replied, offering Ariel a slight smile. I had to lower my eyes so I wouldn't stare at him.

The emotion-reigning situation was getting steadily worse, not better. I tried my best to ignore it, instead tucking my envelope away in the pocket of my sweatshirt. Fang was my best friend. Fang was my best friend. Fang was my best friend.

This mantra wasn't working very well.

I took a deep breath and shoved away the sudden strong emotion battering away at me. Where had all of this come from so quickly? I was perfectly fine with my relationship with Fang yesterday… was this because of the hug in the pool? Or the bikini top incident? Or was it just pent up from everything so far? I bit my lip, trying to shoo away these meddlesome thoughts.

Nudge, Maria, Fang and I had set out from the Richards house together, but now Nudge's house was in front of us. She hugged each of us tightly before running up to the front door of her house. "Good night Maria! See you on Monday, Fang!" she called. "Max, my coach might want to have you try out for the Downpour this weekend. I'll keep you posted, okay?"

"Sounds great. Thanks Nudge!" I called back. Nudge smiled brightly one more time before disappearing back into her house.

Fang and Maria kept walking down the road. I hurried to catch up to them, then slowed to fall into pace with Fang, matching each of my steps with his. Maria skipped along beside us in her bluebird pajamas, seeming both tired yet still unerringly cheerful. The three of us walked in a comfortable silence all the way back to Fang and Maria's house. Once we were there, Maria hugged me around the legs, chirped, "Good night Max! I love you!" and ran into the house.

Fang paused in his front yard, turning to look at me. "Did you have fun with the girls tonight? He queried, smiling softly after Maria.

I nodded, managing what I hoped looked like a casual grin. "They're sweet," I replied.

Fang looked skeptical. "Even if they're bombarding you with water guns and noodles and all things pool-related?" he asked dubiously.

I laughed. "Okay, maybe 'sweet' is a bad word choice," I admitted. "But still, they're good kids."

"They are," Fang agreed. We fell into a comfortable silence for a moment, simply studying each other. My mind came boomeranging back to the strange zig-zagging scar on Fang's stomach. Where could he have possibly gotten that from? I knew it wasn't just a normal accident, or he wouldn't be so edgy about it. The scar was something important, that I was sure of.

Suddenly, Fang stepped forward and took my face gently in his hands. My chin was pulled upwards, my eyes forced by some gravitational pull to lok into his. Fang's eyes were like dark, reflective chasms. I couldn't see the bottoms of them- only my own face mirrored back at me. "How's this feeling?" he asked, his voice a normal volume like it was a perfectly acceptable and casual thing for him to be mere inches away from each other while we spoke.

Vaguely, I realized that Fang was talking about my black eye. "It's fine," I said, only half-lying. "Jose definitely didn't help it, but it's getting better."

Fang's eyes flashed with anger at the mention of Jose, his hands tightening on my chin. "Jose was a jerk," he growled.

"And a sexist pig," I offered, glad to see him crack a smile at my enthusiastic addition. "But you dealt with him. No worries."

Fang didn't look so sure, but he didn't object verbally. "What about Max II? Has he been bothering you again?" he asked.

I thought about my last meeting with Max II. I hadn't exactly gone over well, but I certainly was not going to tell my overprotective bestie that. He'd probably murder Max II and get arrested. "I'm fine," I repeated. "I can take care of myself, Fang."

Fang suddenly grinned ruefully, letting go of my face and stuffing his hands in his pockets like he didn't know what to do with them. "I know," he admitted. "I just want to help. You're too special to be hurt for stupid reasons, Max."

Warmth flooded my stomach at his words, but I tried to ignore it. "Awwwm" I cooed teasingly. "How sweet of you."

Fang smirked, but didn't reply. We lapsed back into silence, and I suddenly realized how close we were standing. For the past few minutes we had been talking, we had slowly moved closer to each other and I hadn't even noticed. Fang's presence so near to me seemed natural somehow. There was nothing strange about him being so close. Fang's smirk lifted suddenly into a smile, the real kind that I loved to see so much.

I blame that smile for everything- because that's when I screwed up.

My short-circuited brain seemed to take a life of its own for a moment, making me feel as if I wasn't the one directing my body.

After all, if I were in control of myself, I certainly would not have stepped forward, pulled Fang's head down, and kissed him full on the mouth.

My brain seemed to short out even more during the kiss. Fang's lips were slightly chapped, but still soft and warm against mine. The feeling of them colliding with mine was enough o dump a truckload of warm butterflies into my stomach. Fang stood there like a brick wall, obviously shell shocked by my pure stupidity.

Oh crap. I was an idiot.

As soon as I realized what exactly I was doing, I tore away from Fang, gasping fro breath and feeling like I was on the highest adrenaline rush of my life. "Oh…" I breathed, staring wide-eyed at Fang, who was gawking right back at me. "Crap!" I yelled, my suddenly loud voice disrupting the silence. I couldn't look at Fang any more. Whirling around on my heel, I started sprinting down the street.

"Max!" I heard Fang yell after me. The sound of his feet on the pavement running after me filled my ears along with the blood rushing through them. "Max, wait!"

I didn't turn around though, or even break stride as I poured all of my legendary speed into running away.

Because that's what I do best.

Run away.

HEHEHEHEHE…

I wanted Max to kiss Fang first. If anyone's noticed, I try to follow the books as closely as possible, and Max kisses Fang first in the series. So yeah…

I know you've all been waiting for this, because you've been reviewing for it for the past twenty six chapters! Review again and tell me what you think!

I hope you guys appreciate this, btw. Two hours and 8,904 words of straight typing to get this done. I'm bound to get Carpal tunnels! XD So I would appreciate some love for my effort. =P

~TMI~