I'M SO SORRY FOR MY HORRIBLE TREATMENT OF YOU GUYS. Life got in the way. Crap projects, school, soccer, choir, orchestra, dance rehearsal… sleep…

Yeah, I've been ridiculously busy. So I apologize. Here's your two-month-late chapter! (:

I should've felt great today, right?

I mean, I was off crutches, for one. That was a huge plus to my outlook on life. I no longer had to pathetically struggle to walk everywhere on two sticks with an annoying backpack bumping me with every step. Now I had a nice, tidy boot encasing my injured leg, and I could just walk around semi-normally. Another plus was now Fang had no logic to pick me up anymore, so I stayed with two feet firmly on the ground.

But…

It was also a Monday. And Mondays are never good in the life of Maximum Ride. As bright and shiny as the morning seemed as Fang, Ella and I walked up to Cromwell's front gates, I knew that it was only a matter of time before something went drastically wrong.

"Cheer up, Max," Ella coaxed, noting my gloom-and-doom expression and instantly knowing what was on my mind. "Things will only go drastically wrong if you believe that they will."

"Great minds think alike," I replied, a smile twisting the corner of my mouth.

"And then, there's ours," Ella finished, flashing a grin at me. "Damn, I am good."

"I don't understand how this whole sister thing works," Fang announced, looking between me and Ella with furrowed eyebrows. "You're only even half-sisters too, yet you're completely in tune with each other practically all the time."

"I like to think it comes from years of being on the move with only two constant people in your life all the time," I volunteered, my smile dimming a bit. "Ells and I were always close, and Mom can usually do the whole I'm-reading-your-emotions-and-thoughts thing pretty well too. We're just a very close little family." Ella smiled, reaching over and squeezing my hand for a second before letting go.

Fang nodded slowly, thinking this over. "That sounds about right," he agreed. "So you three just have a sixth sense sort of thing about the others' feelings?"

"I guess you could call it that," Ella replied, shrugging. "Oh look! There's Iggy! Catch you guys later!" she chirped, promptly ditching us and rushing over to her boyfriend. I watched as she laced her hand through his, and Iggy's face visibly brightened. They were adorable.

"Why are you frowning like that?" Fang asked, cocking his head to the side and looking at me with an amused expression on his face. "Something wrong?"

"It's a Monday," I explained automatically. "Something will go wrong."

"Max, you can't think like that," Fang chided, reaching out and grabbing my hand. I looked up at him in surprise, but he only gave me a small smile in return. "Like Ella said, if you think it's gonna be a suckish day then that's your outlook's fault, not the fact that it's a Monday," he continued. "It's not like just because it's a Monday some huge major crap is gonna unfold-"

"You just wait," I interrupted seriously, nodding at him knowingly. "It will happen. I can sense the Monday blues power resonating in the aura of this deceptively calm atmosph-"

"Shut up," Fang ordered. I grinned, and he rolled his eyes. "Let's just go to class, okay?"

"Fang! Hey, Fang!"

We both turned at the sound of Ford's voice. He was running out from the gym doors, his hair wildly disheveled and his expression frantic. "Sup Ford?" Fang greeted him, curiously looking over our strange goalkeeper friend.

Ford bent down and put his hands on his knees, gasping for breath. It was obvious he had been running very quickly for a long time, or had been doing something really exerting. It took quite a bit to wind Ford, and winded was exactly what he was. "I need your help with Gaz," he explained, "He's shooting a ball at classroom walls all up and down C Hall, and refuses to stop. He's all moody and crap, but he's gonna get in serious trouble if he breaks a window or damages something. Ms. Nirzoa is already pissed at him for the other shit he's done this year."

I grimaced at the mention of the school principal. Apparently she had almost nailed Iggy, Gaz, Lucas and Matt for a case of vandalism earlier this year she had been sure they had committed. Gazzy definitely did not need a vandalism charge that he had actually committed on his record right now. "Go reason with him," I ordered, pushing Fang towards Ford. "Remind him he can't play soccer if he's suspended."

Fang sighed, releasing my hand and wordlessly following Ford at a jog. I watched for a moment as they ran away, then continued on down the hallway. Gazzy had been awfully moody since our babysitting job, come to think of it. I wondered what was bothering him. That kid really should go see Richie…

"Hey Max!"

Before I could turn to identify the voice calling my name, I was suddenly wrapped in a pair of extremely strong, rib-crushing arms. "Hi Nudge," I managed to breathe out. "How's it going?"

Nudge released her ninja hug on me, allowing me to step back and exercise use of my lungs again. "I'm doing okay," she replied, flashing a quick smile. We started walking down the hallway again, weaving through the crowds of students clumped everywhere.

"You look tired," I noted, frowning as I caught sight of the dark smudges under Nudge's eyes. She didn't just look tired, she looked exhausted. Her usually flawless makeup was not half as complex as it usually was, and her wild frizzy curls were even frizzier than normal, only contained by a bright blue scrunchie. "Is everything okay?"

"Peachy," Nudge assured me, a pained expression flashing across her face.

I didn't even bother to pretend I was buying her poor acting. "Yeah right," I scoffed, inspecting her tired face more closely. Her eyes were bloodshot. "What's wrong, Nudge? You can tell me." I bumped her shoulder gently, taking care not to hit her injured wrist.

"Nothing's wrong," Nudge insisted, flashing another weak smile. "I'm just… confused. Tired. I didn't get a lot of sleep last night. I was thinking- you know how I left so suddenly from Gaz's hou-"

Nudge's voice cut off abruptly. She stopped dead in the middle of the hallway, her face suddenly tight and blank.

I stopped too, wondering what had happened. "Nudge?" I asked in confusion. Her dark eyes were narrowing with an emotion I couldn't place –hurt, shock, anger?- and locked on one spot. I turned to follow her gaze, my eyes landing on a couple of kids making out against a locker bank.

Then I realized who those 'couple of kids' were.

Dylan was sucking face with another girl. She was a senior, if I remembered correctly, although she was a petite 5'3" to Dylan's 5'11". She made up for the height difference though with five inch heels (to school? Honestly?) and an iron grip on Dylan's hair.

Nudge stood beside me, rigid and frozen in place by the sight we were witnessing. I turned sharply away from the jerk and his girl, stepping in front of Nudge's view to block her from watching anymore. As soon as her line of vision was cut off, Nudge gave a strangled little cry and lunged forward, her eyes wild.

Ah, there we go. Horrible Monday morning vibes are never wrong.

Even if it had looked like she was going to start sobbing in the middle of the hallway ten seconds before, now Nudge looked liable to tear somebody's head off no problem. Nudge's style was more of a revenge first, break down later type of thing. Right now was the revenge part, and she looked like she wanted to full on attack Dylan until he was unable to make babies, or breathe for that matter.

And I was about to gladly help her, too!

But then that annoying thing called common sense kicked in. We were on school property, on a school day, right before homeroom was about to start. Killing Dylan now might get us expelled. We definitely would not be able to hide the evidence before a teacher found us, and there were too many witnesses in the hallway right now. Unfortunately, we would have to wait to commit our murder.

But just try explaining that to a furious, wrathful Nudge.

I latched onto her arms, grabbing her by the shoulders and holding her back so she wouldn't go rip out Dylan's spleen and strangle the girl with it. "Nudge, calm down," I ordered quietly, my teeth gritted and muscles straining. Nudge was stronger than one might think at first glance, and I was having trouble restraining her. My back ached with the strain of holding her back, the now-familiar irritating pain surging down my spine in waves.

"Calm down?" Nudge asked in disbelief, her normally clear, happy eyes now snapping with a burning, righteous fury. "The bastard is cheating on me! I'm going to go teach him the meaning of the word pain!"

Nudge's angry words carried quite clearly across the hall, gathering everyone's attention instantly. Everyone's except for Dylan and his make-out buddy, that was. No one here had ever had the misfortune to get in the way of Nudge when she was seriously pissed off, and they were shocked by her sudden transformation from bubbly, preppy teen girl into vengeful Amazon warrior.

"I know Nudge, and you have every right to go kill him- just not right now!" I hissed, getting a better hold on her as she tried to break free and run at Dylan. "There are witnesses, Nudge! You could get expelled!"

"Screw it!" she growled. "I don't care!" With that, she twisted ferociously out of my grasp and stalked up to where Dylan had his little friend pressed against a bank of lockers. Nudge's highly fashionable, brightly colored outfit was totally incongruous with the expression of ultimate rage on her face, but it wasn't funny at all at the moment. She was seriously pissed.

Note to self: warn her future boyfriends of what happens when they cheat on her. After all, it would only be fair to give them a proper heads up.

Nudge grabbed Dylan by the shoulder with her good hand, roughly whirling him around and detaching his face from the girl's. Now that they weren't totally making out, I vaguely recognized her. Her name was Cindy, or something like that. Nudge paid no attention to her, although the girl looked seriously frightened. Even though Nudge was a freshman and Cindy was a senior, Nudge was naturally 5'8" even without her heeled boots giving her an extra inch, and she had the advantage of anger on her side.

Nudge kept her hand firmly on Dylan's shoulder and slammed him backwards into the lockers, glaring furiously straight up into his eyes. "Dylan, honey," she purred, her eyes narrowing. I could see her perfectly manicured nails digging into his shoulder even from here. "What the hell do you think you were just doing? Did you think that little Nudgeykins wouldn't find out, or would that she would forgive you?" Nudge laughed, but it was a scary laugh, devoid of any trace of her usual bubbliness. "Ultimate. Bull. Shit," she snarled, the laugh gone in an instant.

Dylan looked down at her steadily. "I thought-" he began, his voice utterly calm.

"Whatever you thought, you thought wrong," Nudge spat. "We are so over." Nudge let go of his shoulder, looking revolted by his very existence, and turned on her heel to walk back towards me.

"Well, can I go back to kissing her now, bitch?" Dylan's voice, cool and collected, rang out through the hallway.

Nudge's fists clenched, and her face contorted with fury as she visibly attempted to hold in the urge to murder him. That's my girl. She didn't deserve this crap, not one bit of it. Dylan was so going to pay when he had to sit next to me in class later. Nudge slowly turned around to face Dylan again, the terrifying look on her face wiping away Dylan's satisfied smirk in less then a second. "Go ahead, you douche," Nudge replied, her voice shaking with controlled rage. "See if I care."

I couldn't believe it when Dylan actually turned around and leaned forward to kiss Cindy again. "What the hell?!" I yelled, my sudden outburst making Dylan recoil from Cindy like he had been burned. He whipped his head around to stare at me, blue eyes wide. "Are you seriously going to go back to making out with her, right in front of Nudge? You really suck, don't you Dylan?" I snarled.

Dylan looked guilty all of a sudden. It was about time. Honestly. "Max, when did you get here?" he asked. His voice had suddenly lost its calm confidence. Oh, he better be afraid of me.

"I've been standing here this whole time, as you would've noticed if you had been with your girlfriend instead of Cindy here," I replied bitingly. Nudge crossed her arms beside me, and we both glared at the Cindy person, who glared right back.

"My name is Sandy!" she corrected me, narrowing her eyes at me as if I was the one in the wrong here.

"And I don't give a shit," I informed her flippantly, rolling my eyes. Did she really think she was that important? "What I care about is that you were kissing my friend's boyfriend and don't seem all that sorry, so you better beat it before I get angry." I locked gazes with Cindy/Sandy, daring her to test me.

She huffed, but apparently valued her limbs, because she trotted off down the hallway without a backwards glance at Dylan. I turned my attention away from the senior and back onto Dylan. "Same thing goes for you," Nudge spat, glaring at Dylan like she wanted his head to combust right there in the hallway. I stood right beside her, backing her up.

Dylan stepped forward, reaching out and grabbing my arm before I could stop him. "Max, let me explain-" he tried to say.

I tried to shake his hand off, but the damn boy had too strong of a hold on me. "Get off me," I growled. "You should be apologizing to Nudge, not me. And forget about even trying to 'explain'."

"Max-" Dylan tried again.

"Get off of her, Dylan!" Nudge demanded, her voice going shrill with anger. She shoved at Dylan's arm with her good hand, digging her nails into his wrist.

"No," Dylan snapped back. He pulled me forward when I tried to yank my arm back, making me stumble. Pain lanced through my injured ankle, and I accidentally lurched forward into Dylan's chest. He held me there, and I felt my mind go dark with anger. Where was Fang when I needed him right now? "Max, listen to me-"

He didn't have time to say anything else, because Danny Armstrong materialized out of nowhere, wrenched me out of Dylan's arms, and shoved him smack into the lockers.

I stumbled backward, almost falling on my ass before Nudge caught me. I quickly regained my balance, turning to make sure I hadn't hurt her wrist. "Nudge, are you okay?" I asked, reaching out and gently grabbing her brace to inspect it.

Nudge paid me no attention, choosing to gape over my shoulder instead.

"What the hell do you think you're doing to my friend's girl, Gunther?" Danny growled behind me. I whirled around, shocked at the intense venom in his usually sunny voice. Danny had Dylan's shirt collar fisted in one of his hands, his other arm flat against his chest and pinning him to the locker banks. Everyone in the hall had cleared a twenty foot radius to watch in dead silence, shocked by this previously unseen side of Danny. "What do you think you're doing to Max, huh?" Danny repeated, a dangerous glower darkening his face.

"Get off me," Dylan bit out. He had the audacity to look offended by Danny's manhandling.

"All right," Danny agreed. He forcibly yanked Dylan away from the lockers and pushed him in a different direction, landing him right in the vice grip of a certain blond friend of ours who had stepped out of the crowd.

Gazzy was actually shaking with anger as he took his turn to shove Dylan into a locker bank. Gaz didn't waste time with thinly veiled threats though. A loud cracking noise rang through the silent hallway as Gazzy's fist slammed into Dylan's face.

"Gazzy!" Nudge shrieked, trying to surge forward towards the now brawling pair of boys. "Get off him, Dylan! Gaz! Gazzy!"

Danny stepped swiftly over, gently but firmly guiding Nudge away from the fight. The crowd parted for Danny to steer her through, and with a last glance at Gazzy beating the crap out of four-inch taller and a hell of a lot more muscular Dylan, I followed behind.

Danny herded Nudge down a side hall, his arm wrapped firmly around her shoulders so she couldn't escape. As we got further from the fight, the crowds thickened and the noise got louder, turning into a normal high school scene. "You're just gonna let Gazzy fight with Dylan?" Nudge demanded, obviously furious. "Don't you have any concern for him? What if they get caught? What if he gets in trouble and gets suspended and his parents will be pissed and ground him till he's twenty and he won't be able to play school sports for awhile so we won't have our best forward on the team for championships and it will all be your fault, Danny Armstrong! What if he gets hurt? ZOMG what if he's seriously injured? I need to get back there!" Nudge ranted ceaselessly, still speaking as she struggled valiantly to get out of Danny's hold.

"Nudge," Danny tried to say.

"Why the hell did you make me walk away?" Nudge snapped.

"Because Gazzy made me," Danny admitted, effectively shutting Nudge up. Danny took advantage of this to keep talking. "Personally, I was all for letting you claw Dylan's face off by yourself, but then he started harassing Max too, and Fang would've killed us if he found out we stood there and did nothing… and then there was the issue of Gaz's bloodthirsty rage over Dylan cheating on you and calling you a bitch…"

"Bloodthirsty rage?" I asked, raising an eyebrow at Danny. "Why was Gaz the one in the bloodthirsty rage and you're all calm right now?"

Danny gave me a quick, disbelieving glance. "What do you mea- oh wait." Danny paused, understanding dawning on his face. "You're Max. You're clueless with feelings."

"Hey!" I protested. "I have a boyfriend!"

Danny snorted. "Your boyfriend sucks at feelings too," he replied. "So it doesn't give you any points for dating him. Anyway, as I was saying…" Danny turned his attention fully back to Nudge. "Let Gaz defend you. It'll make him feel better."

"Why does he feel the need to defend me?" Nudge asked petulantly, crossing her arms. "Max and I could've handled Dylan without help from either of you, and without a fistfight!"

Danny half-smiled, running a hand through his hair. "You know why he needs to defend you, Nudge," he informed her gently. "Gaz told me what happened. You need to talk to him."

Nudge's jaw literally dropped. "He told you?" she sputtered. "But- wait- I thought you cared- about me?" she squeaked out. Nudge's dark cheeks flared red.

Danny only gave her a slightly sad, slightly wistful smile. "But we both know who cares more," he replied quietly. "And I know you care about him more than you do for me. It's okay Nudge, I never had a chance. You're out of my league."

Nudge snorted, giving him a skeptical look. "I'm out of the league of popular, handsome, brilliant, athletic, super friendly, amazing senior Danny Armstrong?" she scoffed.

Danny laughed. He pulled Nudge forward in a short hug, then drew back quickly. "Exactly," he agreed. "I'm glad we're on the same page here. And we'll always be friends, okay?"

Nudge just stared at him. "Okay," she echoed, sounding dazed. "So you think I should talk to him?"

"Make things right," Danny agreed. "Go get him, tiger." And with a final, two-finger salute, Danny Armstrong gave up any claim to Nudge's heart and walked peacefully away.

"What the hell just happened?" I demanded, always the sensitive type.

Nudge gazed after Danny for a second, then grabbed my arm and dragged me back down the hall towards where we had left Dylan and Gazzy. She wouldn't respond to anything I said, so I finally gave up and let her drag me.

There was no sign of a fight when we got back to the scene, and everyone was milling about normally, quickly disappearing into their first period classrooms. "Where did they go?" Nudge demanded, frizzed curls flying as she whipped her head looking anxiously around.

"Either they got caught and are in the office, or they went off to first period," I replied. "Somewhere we should be now."

As if to prove my point, the one minute warning bell rang.

"Crap, I gotta go," I realized, tugging my hand from Nudge's grip. "Good luck with whatever it was you and Danny were talking about, Nudge!"

I heard her sigh as I hurried away.

Fang didn't say a word as I flew into class four minutes late, his dark eyes blazing into me as I walked up the aisle and plopped beside him at our shared desk. However, as soon as I had set my backpack down, Fang reached over and grabbed the leg of my chair, pulling me until my chair clunked into his. This task completed, he snaked an arm around my waist and pulled me against his side. I looked up at him, startled by the random display of affection.

"I heard about Dylan," Fang explained, a scowl darkening his face. I glanced over to where Dylan should have been sitting, and was pleased to discover his absence from the room. I fervently hoped that Gazzy had destroyed him. "I can't believe I wasn't there to pummel him for touching you."

I scowled at Fang. "I don't need you to pummel anyone for me," I retorted. "I don't do damsel in distress. And anyway, Gaz and Danny had a field day pummeling each other by themselves."

Fang snorted. "Pummeling each other?" he echoed disbelievingly. "More like Gaz kicking Dylan's ass."

"Gazzy Richards is at least four inches shorter and fifty pounds lighter than Dylan," I pointed out. "And he's the thin, lean type, whereas Dylan is the muscled, brawny type. And Gaz was kicking Dylan's ass?"

"Yeah," Fang said, rolling his eyes at my skepticism. "Gaz barely had a scratch on him, other than a black eye, bruised ribcage and torn shirtsleeve. He's a very quick fighter, and he was furious. Dylan didn't stand a chance."

I nodded slowly, trying to reason this out in my mind. Gazzy was very protective of his friends, and Nudge happened to be one of his best friends. He was probably beyond pissed that Dylan had treated her so badly. "Where's Gaz now?" I asked.

"Homeroom with Mr. Sampson," Fang answered. "He got away clean with beating up Dylan. Dylan, however, is in the nurse's office claiming to have fallen down a flight of stairs." Fang's lips twitched upward. "A flight of stairs that punched him repeatedly in the face and stomach and pushed him around like a twig."

I smiled despite myself. "I'm proud of Gaz for standing up for Nudge," I said. "Wasn't he not talking to her very much for the past couple weeks?"

"Because she was dating Dylan against his advice not to, and he was frustrated," Fang replied. "So Gaz kind of predicted something like this happening."

"I told you Mondays suck," I muttered ominously.

The announcements, which always crackled on in the background of Homeroom while I chatted with Fang, suddenly gained importance when I heard: "And will the following people please come to the front office? Frannie Smith, Jason Garcia, and Dwayne Pearson to Ms. Jean, and Zephyr Richards to the counselor. Thank you, and have a great day."

Fang and I turned to look at each other at the same time. "Gaz is going to see Richie," I pointed out, a bit redundantly. "Maybe we'll finally get some answers about his moodiness!"

"Or maybe Dylan spilled about the fight and Ms. Nirzoa is putting Gaz in anger management," Fang replied calmly.

I frowned. "Pessimist," I scolded.

"Optimist," Fang countered teasingly.

"How is being optimistic a bad thing?" I demanded incredulously.

Fang only shook his head at me, looking half-mocking, half-serious. "Optimism is just a kind name for naïveté," he explained. "And being naive blinds you to the truth of the world around you. You find normal reasons for irregular activities because you refuse to believe something bad is happening. Optimism is dangerous." He snorted. "And all this morning you've been predicting Monday Morning Disaster, so I wouldn't call you the epitome of optimism, although you do tend to have a nasty streak of it in you."

"You're so depressing, Fang."

"No, I'm right."

¥~\,¥•••••••••••••••••••

Gazzy glared at the front of the cluttered desk. "I'm not spilling my heart to you," he stated flatly.

Richie Reynolds leaned back in his chair and smiled, steepling his fingers on his stomach. "Funny, that's what Iggy and Max said too," he remarked mildly. "Yet I now know all about Iggy's every insecurity and the details of Max's past. Interesting how that works out, huh?"

Gazzy glanced up sharply. "You've been talking to Max and Iggy?" he demanded, looking wary of the counselor all of a sudden.

Richie nodded. "Yep," he agreed. "I'm very effective at getting answers. I should get a pay raise."

Gazzy stared at Richie, his face stony. "I don't know why I'm here," he stated, getting straight to the point.

Richie laughed, leaning back in his chair and folding his hands behind his head. "If you'd like to harbor a guess, I would go with the shiner on your face," Richie advised. "It matches your friend Max's black eye pretty nicely. Although, hers is fading a lot by now."

"What of it?" Gazzy asked defensively, crossing his arms. He was still pissed about Dylan, and not in the mood to deal with Richie's crap. "So I've got a black eye. Shouldn't I be in the nurse's office instead of the guidance counselor?"

"You could be getting expelled for fighting," Richie informed him seriously. "At Cromwell we take these things very seriously. And you were the one who initiated the fight, Mr. Richards."

Gazzy just stared at the counselor, unimpressed with the consequences he had painted out. "What of it?" Gazzy repeated.

"Well, I asked for them to send you here," Richie replied amicably. He leaned forward and pulled a white box out from a half open desk drawer. "Would you like a donut, Mr. Richards?" he offered.

Gazzy stared at the carton of powdered donuts. "Just tell me why I'm here so I can go back to class," he said, his voice monotone.

"Are you sure you don't want a donut?" Richie persisted. "I find that they make everything better."

"Tell me why you asked for me," Gazzy repeated, his voice taking on a deadly edge.

"Have a donut," Richie replied, his voice just as solemn.

"Are you serious?" Gazzy demanded incredulously, staring at the guidance counselor. "I don't want a donut! I want to go back to class!"

"I want you to take a donut, Gazzy," was Richie's only response.

"If I take a damn donut will you tell me why I'm here?" Gazzy asked, exasperated by the whole conversation.

"Yes," Richie agreed, smiling contentedly at the aggravated teenager in front of him.

With a low growl, Gazzy reached forward and snatched a donut from the box. "There," he snarled. "Now why am I here?"

"Take a bite," Richie instructed him calmly.

"For the love of all that is holy!" Gazzy shouted, fed up with the calm, unwavering responses of the man. "What is it with you and these donuts?"

Richie just smiled. "It's for your own good, Gaz," he replied mysteriously. "Trust me on this one."

Gazzy ripped a bite from the powdered donut, scowling as he chewed. White powder gathered at the corners of his mouth, but failed to lessen the severity of the ferocious glare he was sending the guidance counselor. "Spill," Gazzy barked around his mouthful of pastry.

"I want to talk to you about Nudge," Richie informed him calmly.

Gazzy froze. Had Nudge gotten in trouble for the scene this morning? He had thought she had gotten away clean since he'd forced Danny to lead her away from the fight. Maybe Dylan had ratted her out? "What about her?" Gazzy demanded, keeping his tone guarded.

"Ah, more open to listening now, aren't you?" Richie asked knowingly, an infuriating twinkle in his eye.

"What of it?" Gazzy muttered rebelliously, feeling slightly warmer. He averted his eyes to stare out the window at the athletic facilities. He had a perfect view of the PE class that was in session.

"You like her, am I right?" Richie pressed, leaning forward. "That's what made you attack Dylan earlier."

Gazzy took his eyes off the window, dull embarrassment replaced with sharp wariness. "Why do you care about how I feel about Nudge?" he asked slowly, ignoring the prying questions the guidance counselor was asking.

"I care because after you leave, I'm calling her in to talk about her recent breakup with Mr. Gunther," Richie replied smoothly. "I want to know if someone is going to help me pick up the pieces. I have a feeling it will be you, Mr. Richards."

Gazzy laughed harshly, crossing his arms. "Nudge's too strong to let Dylan break her," he scoffed. "And besides, she won't want me to pick up any pieces. Apparently I'm off limits to her." Pure hurt rang in his voice, however much he tried to hide it.

Richie raised an eyebrow. "Off limits?" he repeated questioningly.

That was all that Gazzy needed to spill out his pent up frustration. "I finally managed to admit my damn feelings to her this weekend, and at first everything was going perfectly," Gazzy spat, averting his eyes to the window and ripping a vicious bite from the powdered donut. "Then she starts freaking out that her friend Terra likes me and Nudge 'just can't hurt her like that', but is apparently perfectly willing to hurt me instead. She ran out, and I haven't talked to her since." Gazzy's knee jerked reflexively, an automatic longing to piledrive a soccer ball onto a net ripping through him. Soccer was a defense mechanism as well as a passion for Gazzy. It soothed his fury and hurt. He'd been kicking a soccer ball up and down the halls all morning while Ford tried to stop him, letting out his excess stress from his encounter with Nudge. More than anything, he just wanted to kiss her again.

But that was definitely out of the question.

"God damn it, I just want things to be simple!" Gazzy shouted, abruptly standing up and shoving the chair back. "I'm outta here."

"Gazzy, wait-" Richie tried to say, reaching out as if to try to magically pull him back.

"Stop trying to grill me about the girl who obviously doesn't give a damn about me!" Gazzy snapped. "I fought for her this morning because she deserves better and I have to protect her. That doesn't make our argument go away. She still puts Terra before me. I put no one before her." Seething furiously, Gazzy whipped open the door and started to storm out.

It was then that he realized Max II was standing a foot away from the door, at a spot where he could clearly hear the conversation (aka Gazzy's angry yelling) going on in Richie's office. His face was wiped innocently clean, but his gray eyes glittered with newfound knowledge.

"It's rude to eavesdrop," Gazzy hissed at his ex-friend, stopping momentarily. He wondered how long Max II had been standing there.

"It's even ruder to refuse a donut from Mr. Reynolds," Max II replied smoothly, letting Gazzy now exactly how much he had heard. "So Nudge is your weakness," Max II mused. "You're so easygoing most of the time, Gaz. But that pretty little girl gets you all worked up."

"Shut up," Gazzy spat through gritted teeth. Just the mention of Nudge's name made hurt fire spring up in his chest, clawing harshly at his throat.

"Even the threat of expulsion doesn't make you blink, yet you start screaming the second Nudge's name is uttered," Max II continued thoughtfully, tapping his chin and ignoring Gazzy's quickly growing anger.

"I've gotten in trouble for fighting before," Gazzy said, barely containing his anger at Max II's commentary. His voice was bitter and harsh, a far cry from his normal tone.

"But I've never seen you this mad before," Max II continued, smirking nastily at Gazzy. "So I finally found out what makes Gazzy Richards tick. It only took me the whole school year."

Gazzy stared at Max II, thrown by the last statement. "You were friends with me to find out my weaknesses?" he asked slowly, glaring at the boy he used to call a friend. "That's screwed up, dude."

The look on Max II's face was completely calm, tinted with amusement from his superior little smirk. He didn't appear to be fazed at all by the poison in Gazzy's voice. However, his voice when he spoke betrayed his bitterness. "Why else would I want to be friends with any of you guys?" Max II spat. "You never really cared about me anyway. I was an afterthought, the odd one out. Matt and Lucas, Vlasis and Jake, Terra and Nudge, you, Fang and Iggy. When Max and Ella came it only got worse." A cruel little smile curled around his mouth "Then there was Max Baxter, the kid you guys were gracious enough to let tag around with you."

"That's not true," Gazzy retorted, although in the back of his mind he had a feeling that it actually was. There were very often occurrences where Max II had been excluded because they'd forgotten him, because there weren't enough seats in a car, because everyone had paired off and he was left alone. When the soccer tryout results for Cromwell had come out, all of their friends had been so busy celebrating having made the team that nobody noticed that Max II hadn't gotten on. Max II was right about that, at least.

The redhead laughed, shaking his head mockingly as he watched the realization cross Gazzy's face. "You know it's true," Max II snapped. "But don't worry, I'm not regretful about any of it. It only means I have more of a grudge against you golden kids to hold to hold off any guilt that may hit me." Max II narrowed his eyes, looking thoughtful. "And I'm not as dumb as Dylan is," he added threateningly. "Later, Gazzy. You should be worried."

Gazzy watched Max II push the door open and walk into Richie's office, unable to find a good reply before it was too late. So Max II was holding grudges against all of them, not just Max. Now that he knew Gazzy's weakness, Gazzy knew he had to watch his back. And even more so, he'd have to keep an eye on Nudge.

Gazzy groaned, walking away from Richie's office with even more pent up anger than he'd came with. His black eye was throbbing, and his knuckles were sore from beating up Dylan. It wasn't even second period and he'd already had enough frustration to last the whole week.

This was turning out to be a really crappy Monday.

I glanced around the lunch table, wondering what I could say that somebody might actually reply to. I felt like I would either be screamed at for saying something wrong or totally ignored. Jake, Vlasis, Matt and Lucas were apparently oblivious to the horribly thick tension draping the table, but I could almost feel myself suffocating under its weight.

Gazzy and Nudge were fastidiously avoiding each other's eyes (they were probably feeling awkward about the whole fistfight deal this morning).

Terra and Nudge seemed to be forcing themselves to be cordial to each other. I had been forced to watch them argue back and forth over the group text this weekend, fighting about none other than the subject of Terra's intense affections, Mr. Gazzy Richards. The same boy who wouldn't spare a glance at either one of them right now.

Iggy and Ella were ignoring everyone, caught up in some goo-goo land of their own.

Fang was absent from the table. I wasn't sure where he was, but he had mentioned something about working on an English project in second period. He may have been in the library.

That's it. I was done with the silence and everyone ignoring everyone. "I'm outta here," I announced, standing up and sweeping my lunch off the table. "You guys should go see Richie or something if you're in so much of a huge fight right now," I advised Nudge, Gazzy, and Terra in general.

Gazzy stiffened suddenly, standing up and flinging his legs off the bench. "I'm never talking to that damned guy again," Gazzy growled at me, uncharacteristically stony and angry as he glared at me. "Stupid asshole."

"Hey! Richie's cool!" Iggy defended the counselor, looking briefly away from his girlfriend. "He gives out powdered donuts!"

This comment only seemed to infuriate Gazzy more. "Don't even talk to me about his damn donuts!" Gazzy snapped, his eyes narrowing. "I'm leaving."

"Gazzy-" Nudge stood up, her hand rising as if to stop him from storming off.

"Leave me alone, Nudge," Gazzy said softly, all the poison in his voice gone. It was replaced with an empty kind of sound, one that left me feeling hollow as I listened to it. "It's too late."

Nudge slowly sank back down in her seat as Gazzy pushed his way through the cafeteria and disappeared out through the double doors.

"What's up with him?" Terra remarked to no one in particular.

Nudge abruptly stood. "You know what? I'm done too," she said, her eyes fixed on the doors that Gazzy had just left through. "I need to talk to Gazzy."

"What? You aren't done yet," Terra disagreed, looking up at her suspiciously. "Is there something you want to tell me, Nudge?" There was a strange challenge in Terra's eyes, a look that I didn't particularly like shining on her face.

"Not really, actually," Nudge replied coolly, staring levelly back at the blonde girl. "I just need to have a conversation with Gazzy."

"I'll come with you," Terra said, her tone indicating that she wasn't offering, she was demanding. I stared in shock at the unspoken, razor sharp tension lying between the girls who were supposedly best friends.

"Terra…" Nudge started warningly, giving her a look.

"What? Is it a problem that I want to talk to Gazzy too?" Terra challenged. "I'm more entitled to having a private conversation with him than you, Nudge."

"Terra," I cut in, trying to contain my shock at the contempt in her voice. Where was all of this coming from?

Terra ignored me, simply staring at Nudge. Neither of the girls blinked or moved, holding their own sort of contest of wills in the middle of the lunchroom chaos.

The bell rang to signal five minutes to next period, causing the two girls to break eye contact and glance away grudgingly.

"Well, it looks like no one will be talking to Gazzy now," I remarked, trying to lighten the situation.

Neither of my friends look amused in the slightest. They simply grabbed their lunches and stood, walking off in separate directions in a grim, stony silence. They were definitely not over their argument of the weekend. I couldn't understand it- all they had been bickering about was that Terra was a little too obsessed with her crush on Gazzy. Was that enough to tear apart their friendship?

When I slid into my seat in art, Fang was already there doodling on his binder like any normal day. "How are you doing?" Fang asked casually, shooting a dark glance at a rather thoroughly pounded Dylan sitting in the front of the class.

"I'm okay," I sighed, plopping down into my seat beside Fang. He raised his eyebrows at me, and I sighed again. "Maybe not okay, but that's just because lunch was kind of suckish today. And when I say kind of suckish, I mean it was tense and confusing as hell."

"It's 'cause I wasn't there," Fang said knowingly. "I bring peace and harmony to all those around me- hey! Don't hit, Max," he grumbled. I laughed, pulling back my hand from where I had whapped his arm.

"Nudge, Terra, and Gazzy have some really strange shit going on," I remarked, leaning back in my chair. "Apparently Gazzy now hates Richie after his visit with him this morning."

"Odd," Fang replied absently, focusing on his drawing. "I thought Richie was a likeable dude."

"He can be annoying," I admitted, thinking back to some of my previous conversations with the man. "I've had disagreements with him before."

We had no more time to talk before Ms. Rykitel started class. Fang gave me a reassuring smile, and I just grinned back before focusing my attention on the art teacher.

That class was my last hour of peace before the shit really hit the fan.

I was heading outside with Iggy, Terra, Gazzy and Nudge, Fang once more nowhere to be found. Ella had forgotten something at her locker, and we were heading out to the front gate to wait for her before heading to the park to hang out. I don't remember how the conversation started. It was purely innocent, a remark something like how Fang and Iggy had finally gotten girlfriends and now it was Gazzy's turn.

Instead of laughing, Gazzy's face shut down. "Well, my single status isn't exactly my fault," he said tonelessly. Blue eyes searched our group, landing on a suddenly pale Nudge. "Is it, Nudge?"

"Gazzy, stop," Nudge ordered him, her expression guarded and words toneless. She looked drained, and it was obvious she was struggling to keep herself together.

Gazzy completely ignored all of us standing around him. "No Nudge, I can't stop," he snapped back, his voice strangely desperate. "I won't accept a 'no' when I know that's not what you really mean!"

Nudge glared at him. Or at least, she tried to glare at him. Her anger seemed fake and strained, and under the mask she was trying to wear I could sense a hopeless sort of despair. What the hell was going on here? "Gazzy, I told you no and I meant it," she hissed. "How would you know what I really feel?"

"I know," Gazzy insisted, his voice cracking suddenly. I could see Fang and Iggy wince out of the corner of my eye, and completely empathized with them. I had never seen Gazzy so vulnerable as this before. What was so important that he and Nudge had to talk about that they both sounded so determined about it?

"Don't talk about this now," Nudge snapped. "It's not right to discuss this in front of—"

"In front of who?" Gazzy interrupted, sounding angry. He took a step towards Nudge, who backed up a step in response. "Why are you so god damn stubborn about it?"

"Stubborn about what?" Iggy asked.

Nudge and Gazzy ignored him. They were only focused on each other, hollow brown eyes locked on determined blue ones. "In front of Terra!" Nudge yelled, her voice suddenly rocketing in volume. "She's my friend Gazzy! I can't do this to her!"

"I'm your best friend!" Gazzy retorted. "But you're doing this to me!"

"Doing what?" Terra asked, sounding extremely confused. "You can't do what to me?"

"Terrs, I'm sorry, I swear I didn't mean this to happen," Nudge apologized desperately, her eyes switching frantically between Gazzy's sky blue and Terra's darker blue eyes. "Nothing is happening, and—"

"Nothing is happening because you won't let it happen!" Gazzy broke in. His fists were clenched at his sides, and every muscle in his body was strained to wiry tautness. "Nothing is happening because you're afraid to hurt Terra, but damn it Nudge, you're hurting me instead! You're hurting me so much more! Is it worth it?"

Nudge's eyes filled with tears at the harsh tone of Gazzy's voice. One slipped from her eye, snaking its way down her cheek and quivering in a single droplet at the corner of her lip. "I don't want to hurt anyone," she whispered brokenly.

The tear slipped off her lip and plummeted to the ground.

"But you are," Gazzy informed her coolly. His voice, so angry before, now sounded devoid of any emotion.

I felt like an intruder on this moment. I shouldn't be seeing this, I shouldn't be watching this fight. Suddenly, I felt claustrophobic in the open air. Why was I here? I had no part in this, so why was I here? All this emotion, all this anger— I wished very badly that Fang was here to lend me the reassurance of his strong presence.

"What the hell is going on?" Terra demanded, getting fed up with their indecipherable conversation and putting her hands on her hips. "What are you talking about? What's hurting me, and what's hurting Gazzy? What. Is. Wrong?"

Gazzy tore his eyes away from Nudge for a moment to stare at Terra, almost glaring at her. "Nudge doesn't want to hurt you, so she's hurting me instead," he explained cryptically, his tone alarmingly bitter. Terra looked shocked by the anger Gazzy was directing at her. I was shocked too— usually Gazzy was sunshine and laughter.

Right now he was deadly serious.

"Gazzy, don't say that!" Nudge begged, more tears leaking from her eyes.

"It's the truth," he told her stubbornly. "You made it that way Nudge, so I guess it sucks for you if you don't want to be called out on it."

"Gazzy, I-"

"I don't want to hear it!" Gazzy exploded, cutting Nudge off before she could get another word out. "There was always someone else Nudge, always. Damien Payne, Harry Carnell, Lou Milak, Nick Horan, Danny Armstrong! I can list more if you want. So excuse me for being angry, but it sucks that now there isn't another guy in the way, there's a girl!" Gazzy fumed visibly, his blue eyes sparking with anger.

Beside me, I could see Iggy noticeably straighten up, as if suddenly realizing something. Those names Gazzy rattled off meant nothing to me except for Danny's, but they obviously held some sort of meaning for Iggy. He had known Nudge for years more than me, so I trusted him to know what Gazzy was talking about. He looked like an idea about their argument was finally dawning on him.

Nudge's tears were coming thick now, but I was too paralyzed with confusion to go and help her. My mind was trying to catch up with events, but to no avail. I was utterly lost here. Heavy emotions were beyond me.

Well, heavy emotions other than blinding fury, but that's completely untwisted.

"I'm sorry Gazzy," she hiccuped finally. "I never knew- I never- and Terra- and you were always-"

"You know what?" Gazzy cut her off. "I'm done. I can't change your mind. Protect Terra all you want, Nudge. I won't bother you anymore." And with that, Gazzy turned on his heel and started to walk away.

Nudge stood frozen where she was, her eyes locked on Gazzy's back. Terra reached out as if to touch her shoulder, looking extremely confused. "Nudge, what's happening?" Terra asked gently, her face plain with anxiety and concern.

Nudge tore her gaze away from Gazzy, hesitating for a long moment. Then she stared longingly at Terra, as if trying to make her know her thoughts just through her eyes. "I'm sorry," she whispered, regret plain in her voice. "But I can't do this to him. I tried to be a good friend to you Terra, but I can't do this to Gazzy."

"Do what to Gazzy?" Terra asked, obviously bewildered. "Nudge?"

But Nudge was gone. I could only stand and watch as Nudge ran towards Gazzy and spun him forcefully around in place. Gazzy looked a little surprised, but tried to cover it up with anger. "What are you-" he started to say, his voice filled with strained annoyance. I could instantly tell it was an act— he wasn't mad at Nudge anymore, he was only trying to be.

But Gazzy couldn't get any farther, because Nudge had latched onto him, her arms wrapping around his neck as she dug her head deep into his shoulder. Gazzy's hands flew automatically around her waist, and his face was full of shock. His angry mask was gone, and all that was left was surprise. "Nudge?" he asked quietly, his voice rougher than normal.

Then Nudge murmured a single, slow phrase, her voice low and thick as if she was holding back tears: "You aren't allowed to ever change your mind about me, not now that I've given in."

The change in Gazzy was instantaneous. His eyes, initially narrow and guarded, completely melted into something softer. The angry lines on his face smoothed out, and the tension drained from his body. Carefully, he pulled Nudge off his neck, holding her by the shoulders to see her face clearly.

He only whispered one word: "Finally."

Then Terra and I were left standing in utter bewilderment as Gazzy bent his head and kissed Nudge full on the lips.

Out of the corner of my eye, I could see Terra's eyes widen in shock. And when neither Gazzy nor Nudge pulled away from the kiss, Terra pulled a Max.

Before anyone could do or say anything, she turned tail and ran away.

I really hate Mondays.

I almost broke my finger at soccer practice and this was super painful to type up. You wanna review to make me feel better? (: thank you guys for bearing with me! I love you all!

I'll try to get the next chapter up before May. (; oops.

~TMI~