Haha, you thought I meant August 2013? Joke's on you guys…

Ok I'll stop making bad jokes now just read the story kay thanks (:

Fang was right. I was an optimist.

Because I foolishly thought that maybe the clear issues of my friends might resolve themselves peacefully. Maybe everything would work out without a ton of loud, messy high school drama.

Haha. Yeah, right.

When Gazzy and Nudge showed no signs of releasing each other any time soon, I discreetly grabbed Iggy's wrist and tugged him away to try and find Terra. We wandered around the surrounding streets for about twenty minutes before receiving a confused text from Ella wondering where we were. We'd met back up with my sister at a little cafe, where I had promptly felt extremely awkward being a third wheel to their happy little couple and made a lame excuse to leave. They were a little nauseating to deal with without any backup, after all. It was my little sister!

I was walking back to my house by myself when I caught sight of a familiar figure all in black. A small smile sprang to my face as I saw Fang's smirking face appear around the corner from the direction of the school. He must have just finished that extra work on his project. I opened my mouth to yell out a rude (he would know it was actually affectionate) greeting when another figure turned the corner with him. It was Judy Suli, a girl knew only from Ms. James' homeroom. She was actually smiling brightly as Fang spoke, an expression I couldn't recall seeing on her face before. She was always wore a very neutral expression whenever I saw her at school, and I knew that she was a fairly quiet kid.

Come to think of it, I couldn't remember ever hearing her voice before. All I recalled of past encounters with Judy included my first day, when Ms. James had moved me into Lissa's seat and Lissa into Judy's.

Lissa stalked over to the seat Miss James had indicated for her. A small Asian girl was sitting in it, and she looked timidly up at Lissa, who was scowling at her. "Move it, Suli," Lissa growled. The girl immediately grabbed her things and jumped out of the chair.

She definitely hasn't been smiling then, but then again, I didn't blame her.

Although it was completely irrational, I started feeling extremely insecure.

Fang caught my eye, raising an eyebrow as he half-smiled in my direction. I belatedly realized that his bemusement and amusement probably stemmed from the fact that I was standing stock still in the middle of the road with a really dumb look on my face. It probably seemed as if a local asylum had misplaced an intensive care patient on Main Street. He started in my direction, Judy following shyly behind him like the shadow of a shadow.

I tried valiantly to pull myself together into a vaguely normal appearance as the two approached. The day had greatly shaken me up, what with my Monday Blues premonitions being completely spot on, as well as discovering that two of my best friends who I spent the majority of my time with had apparently been aching after each other without me noticing. Not to mention the fist fight in the hall, being manhandled by Dylan, my horribly aching ankle and back, and the fact that I was starving. I suppose it was just lucky that Anne had canceled practice today, because otherwise there'd be some serious drama messing with the work ethic. My boyfriend, who had been missing most of the day and who I had been sorely missing just a little while before when dealing with three of my friends in a huge secret argument, was walking toward me with another girl. I wasn't panicking, of course not. Not at all. Nope. Nope nope nope nope-

While I had been calmly thinking all of this through, Fang and Judy had made their way over to me. Judy's smile was now completely gone, and instead I was greeted with the quiet, slightly intimidated look that I was much more used to seeing on her face. "Hey Max," Fang greeted me, seeming completely normal. "What are you up to?" He glanced around, possibly to see if I was the only Looney Tune lurking about.

I couldn't help but look between him and Judy a couple more times. "I thought you were working on your English project?" I blurted out. I winced immediately, shutting my mouth firmly and internally cringing at my inelegance. The way that had come out sounded almost accusing.

The tiniest hint of surprise fought its way past Fang's mask, but then he just shut it down and raised an eyebrow at me. "What?"

I could feel myself start to blush, and couldn't help but glance back between him and Judy again. Hell, I'd already dug myself into this hole. I might as well see what was going on and satisfy my insecure curiosity. "You said that you were working on your English project today, at lunch and after school," I clarified, trying my best to meet his eyes without giving away any of the jealousy that was starting to simmer inside of me. I glanced at Judy again, noting her silky black hair tied up in a cute flippy little bun thing, the subtle-yet-chic makeup, her entirely not sporty and not wildly thrown together outfit. Basically, she was everything that I was not. That was enough basis for insecurity, in my opinion.

Judy refused to look me in the eye. That was another addition to my growing insecurity- was she hiding something?

"Yeah, I was," Fang confirmed, his eyebrows furrowing as he tried to figure out where I was going with this. "We're kinda behind because I haven't had the most flexible schedule lately, so we had to work pretty fast since it's due tomorr-"

"We?" I interrupted, then immediately cursed myself in my head. Fang was starting to look less confused and more annoyed by my idiocy, and I couldn't stop either the insecure feeling growing in my chest or the blush spreading across my face.

"We," Fang repeated slowly, his eyes narrowing. "As in, Judy and I. We're partners on this project."

I looked back at Judy again, who still refused to meet my eyes. Her backpack was indeed slung across her shoulders, and in her hand was a copy of Othello. "Oh," was all I could manage to say. "Cool."

Damn, where was my gold sticker for supreme eloquence? I sure deserved one right now.

"Are you okay?" Fang asked, reaching out to touch my arm. I flinched slightly, my bad ankle twitching and a sudden spasm of pain running down my back. Fang drew back, looking hurt for a millisecond before his brick wall mask took over. "Oh," was all he said, his face closing down as he looked away from me."

"Fang, I…" I just trailed off though, unable to voice anything I was feeling or thinking. "I'm confused."

"Yeah?" he said, his voice toneless. "Me too."

The three of us stood there awkwardly, unsure of what to say or do that wouldn't cause any more harm or tension. This was my fault. I really, really was not good in social situations, not even with someone who tended to completely understand me, apparently. "I have to go," I said suddenly, the panic and insecurity and jealousy building up enough where it was all looking to boil over. And with no more explanation than that, I turned on my good heel and went limping off down the street as fast as I could go.

And Fang didn't try to follow me.

I tried not to let that hurt as much as I knew it would if I thought about it. Even if he was the first one who'd ever made a real, honest attempt to follow me when I was trying to escape them, he definitely hadn't shown me that he would do it every time. Quite the contrary, really. I tried not to think about what he might be saying to Judy, trying to explain away his insane girlfriend. It was ridiculous to be jealous that he was with her. Right? They were partners on a project. How much had I ever seen him talk to her before?

Then again, whenever he wasn't talking to me in homeroom, he was always talking to Judy instead. And she used to sit right in front of him before I arrived at Cromwell. Was it possible?...

No. No it wasn't.

I walked a little faster, trying to outstrip my thoughts. I was getting paranoid because of all the other Monday Blues crap that had gone down today. This wasn't a legitimate reason to freak out. I was only freaking out because I was in a freaking out mood. Right?

Right.

That had to be right.

"Maxikins," a voice greeted me, stopping me in my tracks. The voice of the last person in the world that I wanted to meet right now. "How are you doing today?"

I closed my eyes for a moment, trying to breathe in deeply as I opened them again to see not only Max II, but also Dylan, Frida, and… Terra?

The surprise probably showed on my face more than it came out in my voice as I replied, but I wasn't sure if that fact really helped me at all right now. "Why would you like to know?" I responded, my voice just as sweet and false as Max II's had been.

"You look a little…" Max II paused delicately, and his cronies snickered. Terra just looked stony, avoiding my eyes in favor of glaring at the floor. "Nonplussed." He stood up from the small café table he had been lounging at, approaching me with an unreadable look on his face. I still couldn't help but think about Mike as I stared at his face, but I tried not to let it affect me too much. Max was not Mike.

"I certainly hope your ankle isn't giving you too much trouble," Frida offered innocently, before flashing me a nasty smile. I smiled just as acridly back at her, unwilling to let my tough shell crack any further in front of these people.

"In fact, I just got off crutches, thanks for asking," I informed her, my voice still saturated with an overly sugary tone. "I should be back on the field in no time."

"How wonderful to hear!" Max II exclaimed, coming closer. I eyed him warily, but that didn't stop him from clapping a hand across my back. I couldn't help but gasp as his hand seemed to press on every achingly sore muscle and tendon at once. It was like he knew exactly where to hit to find the weak and sensitive places. "Oh no, are you okay, Maxi?" he asked, his voice filled with overly dramatized shock. "I thought you were basically as good as new!"

"Get off me," I growled, viciously shrugging his arm off of my body. "Just 'cuz your girlfriend thinks she can get away with injuring me doesn't mean that sort of thinking is a good idea, Maxi."

Frida smiled poisonously, batting her eyelashes at me before turning her gaze to fastidiously study her manicure. I snorted in her general direction, then noticed Dylan again. His eyes were fixed on me- at least, the eye he could see out of. Gazzy had bashed him pretty damn thoroughly, and it was clear that he would take a little while to heal fully. I didn't like the way he was looking at me though, especially considering the reason that Gazzy had felt the need to pound him. "What are you looking at, Gunther?" I demanded sharply, stepping away from Max II's reach in case he tried to touch my back again.

Dylan just smiled at me, and I noticed a new chip on one of his perfect teeth. I made a mental note to never get in a serious fight with Gazzy, ever, then focused back on the problem at hand. "Just wondering where your perfect boyfriend is," he replied smoothly, not sounding put out in the least by my less than friendly tone.

Something in him had changed; the innocent, easily startled kid I had met in homeroom such a short time ago was nowhere to be found in this dangerous, cheating punk I now saw before me. The same turquoise eyes stared at me, the same blonde hair was perfectly and effortlessly styled on his head, the same kind of clothes covered his body, and the same silver bracelet glittered on his wrist. But who really was this homeschooled mystery? I hadn't wanted to know, but now I was starting to feel like that had been a dangerous mistake.

And I had to admit, he knew exactly which button to press to get to me. Even more effectively than Max II prodding my literal sore spots, Dylan didn't even have to probe to get directly to my biggest emotional weak spot. "Doing his schoolwork, a feat that you three probably can't wrap your heads around," I snapped. My eyes went almost involuntarily to Terra next as I thought about the reason I'd left her out of that barb. Why was she hanging around with people like Dylan, Max II and Frida? I had never seen her talk to any of them before, nor had she ever mentioned them except in context with something one of our friends had mentioned about them.

"What are you looking at?" Terra muttered, glaring back at me when she noticed my eyes on her. I couldn't help but recoil from her bitter tone, shocked at the way she was acting. She laughed shortly, seeing my surprise. "Come on, Max, you have to admit that I have every right to be pissed at all of you after Nudge-" She stopped halfway through her sentence, blue eyes narrowing with anger and betrayal. "I bet you all knew that they liked each other, but no one was going to tell me," she bit out. "No, just let Terra embarrass herself in front of two of the people she thought were her best friends!"

"Terrs, it wasn't like that," I tried to say, reaching out to do who knew what. Maybe I was planning on the comforting shoulder touch or something, but Terra jerked viciously away from me, leaving me with my arm extended helplessly in midair. I slowly retracted it, unable to stop staring at her. "So you're convinced we all conspired against you?" I asked, trying to make it sound like it was a ridiculous idea.

Terra glared back at me again, deadly serious. "What are friends for?" she replied, her voice just as toneless as mine had been. "Max was right," she said abruptly, glancing back at Max II. "You guys have your own little circle. You, Gazzy, Fang, Iggy, and Nudge. The perfect little angels, with your perfect little group. Yeah, you let people like your sister in, and sometimes Matt or Jake or Vlasis, and I thought me too… but it really all boils back down to you five in the end." I couldn't look away as Terra laughed again, the harsh, short sound nothing at all like the happy giggles I was used to hearing from her. Something had snapped for her when Gazzy and Nudge had very visibly shown their feelings for each other, and it looked like it had been something important.

"That's not how we are, Terra," I insisted, feeling a little desperate to convince her otherwise. How could she think that? "You're our friend."

"Friends don't lie to their friends about how they feel about the guy who their friend is in love with!" Terra's voice rose almost uncontrollably, getting shriller and faster as she went on. "Friends don't scoff at their friend's feelings behind the friend's back! Friends don't leave each other out of the loop on important things like, I don't know, all of you did to me!"

I just stood there and stared at her. "That is not what happened," was all I could manage to say.

"Denial seems to be all that you're good at doing, Max," Max II observed, breaking my focus away from Terra. "If you're so insistent that what Terra's saying isn't true, why don't you just tell her what did happen instead of just disagreeing over and over?"

I glared at him. "I don't owe you an explanation," I snapped, a flare of anger livening my clouded mind for a moment. "I don't owe you anything!"

Max II just smiled, steepling his fingers as he raised his eyebrows at me. "Do you?" he asked simply.

Mike.

I set my jaw, my fists clenching as an overwhelmingly helpless feeling took over my whole body. What the hell had I gotten myself into here? Why was I alone, facing three of my least favorite people in this entire city and a girl who clearly hated me at the moment?

Dylan stood up, stepping closer. I glanced between him and Max II, feeling trapped by them on either side of me and the street behind me. It was quite a crowded little space on the sidewalk, boxed into the two feet between the outdoor café tables and curb. "You don't look like you're doing so good," Dylan said quietly, his face completely serious and void of any trace of flirtation or malice. "Let me make sure you get home okay. You're obviously not fully healed yet."

I just stared at him. "I don't want you to walk me home," I said flatly.

His expression didn't change at my blunt refusal. "I know," was his surprisingly even reply. "I'm not looking to walk you home. I'll walk ten feet behind you if that's what you want. But you don't seem completely on right now, and I don't want you to get hurt."

I hated myself for it, but I felt like I was starting to waver. Who was this guy? He had been a complete and utter asshole this morning, and I hadn't forgiven him for his shitty treatment of Nudge as a girlfriend. But I couldn't deny that I had been intensely rude to him without much reason other than an immediate, not necessarily deserved dislike. Although I still considered him a total jerk for everything he had done to Nudge, I trusted him more than Max II or Frida or even Terra not to hurt me while I was down.

It wasn't like Fang was here to help me, anyway.

"Fine," I muttered. "Ten feet behind me is good." I ignored the flicker of genuine, hopeful surprise on his face, like he had expected me to stomp him underfoot instead. "Bye Terra. I hope you realize that we aren't as cliqueish as you seem to think we are," I said softly. "You're still my friend until you make me an enemy." I turned to give Frida and Max II one last glance. "I don't know what you two are up to, but I hope you're very happy together."

Then I turned around and walked away, not checking to see if Dylan was following. Pain was lancing through my back even more after Max II's rough treatment of my sore spots, and I couldn't help but limp on my bad ankle, even though I had been told not to do so. To top it all off, I was developing a lovely headache from all the assorted horrible things that had happened today.

"How are you doing?" Dylan asked from behind me. I didn't turn around, resolving that I didn't want to talk to him, even if I had caved on letting him make sure I could get home without any more trouble. I wasn't completely sure why I had allowed him to in the first place, besides a sudden feeling of misgiving about judging him so quickly at our first meeting.

"Okay, you don't have to answer. I get why you don't want to talk to me," Dylan acknowledged. "I was an absolute asshole in the way I treated Nudge."

I refrained from agreeing. Just barely. I figured if I was going to try not to judge him undeservedly, I should attempt not to be my normal derisive self and say rude things to provoke him.

"I know you don't like me. I'm not sure why you didn't at the beginning, since I hadn't done anything bad to you," Dylan started again, his voice more subdued than usual. I couldn't help but listen. "But now I definitely deserve it after cheating on Nudge and everything. I don't know what came over me… but, I've never had any girl interested in me before. I didn't know how to handle it."

I couldn't help but snort at that one. "You've never had a girl interested in you?"

"I had a very… sheltered life," Dylan said, sounding surprised that I had even replied at all. "I told you I was homeschooled. I really only had one friend before I came to Cromwell, and then suddenly everyone wanted to talk to me. And Nudge wanted to talk to me a lot. I guess I confused flattery and excitement with feelings for her. And after we already started going out I had no idea how to stop except to make her want to break up with me."

"Well you didn't have to cheat on her!" I snapped, although the bite was starting to leave my voice almost involuntarily.

"I know!" he snapped back, but with a much more embarrassed tone. "I know. It was stupid. But I'm not exactly socially graceful. I made mistakes. But before that all I could really be accused of would be being annoying, and you have to admit that around me you seem to be very easily annoyed. So I'm sorry for everything."

"The one you should be apologizing to-" I started.

"Is Nudge, I know, I know," Dylan finished, sounding defeated. "You told me that already. I'm sorry I grabbed you, by the way. As soon as I did that I realized I made a mistake, but again…"

"You had no idea how to fix it so you waited for someone else to," I supplied. "Someone else in the form of Danny Armstrong throwing you into a bank of lockers and Gazzy Richards beating the crap out of you for your first mistake."

Dylan laughed shortly. "Sounds about right," he agreed. "I will apologize to Nudge if Gazzy ever lets me within fifty feet of her again, okay?"

I couldn't help but laugh a little at the thought of how protective Gazzy would be. "Okay, I can accept that," I sighed.

"Thank you for letting me explain, Max," Dylan said softly. The sudden change of tone immediately put me back on high alert. It was okay for him to explain about Nudge, but now he was making it sound like he was explaining only for my benefit. That was not okay with me.

So me being me, I picked up the pace as much as I could and didn't respond. An injured Max's version of running away.

We walked the rest of the way in silence, Dylan presumably watching to make sure I didn't suddenly fall down and die or something of the kind. I stumbled a few times, usually more because of the pain in my back than my actually incapacitated ankle. Every time I did, I heard the scuff of sneakers on pavement that indicated he had hurried forward to help before dropping silently back again. I had to admit that I appreciated he actually stayed ten feet behind me the whole time instead of pushing the boundary.

I couldn't help but wonder where Fang was, and what he would think if he saw this strange interaction taking place. It didn't take very long before we passed his house, and I couldn't help but look cautiously in its direction. I felt like I had to make sure I wasn't getting caught- which was ridiculous, considering that Dylan and I weren't actually speaking and he was a safe distance behind me. To most people it probably didn't even look like we were together, besides the fact that he was following me so consistently.

When I got to the fence bordering my front yard, I stopped and turned around. Dylan stopped too, still approximately ten feet away. He was like a dependable little puppy, eager to please and sticking to directions.

I felt distinctly uncomfortable with that analogy.

"So, uh, this is my house," I stated, not really sure what else to say. "Thank you for…" For making sure I didn't trip and die? For explaining his shitty behavior to Nudge? For apologizing to me for being someone who inexplicably annoyed me? "…for doing that," I finished lamely.

Dylan half smiled, his eyes locked on mine. "Thank you for letting me," he replied simply, not bothering to clarify what I meant.

I nodded awkwardly, still unsure of what to do. "I guess this means I shouldn't be as rude to you, even if you have assholes for friends."

Dylan winced, and I instantly felt bad again for immediately insulting him right after deciding I should be nicer. "Look, I know you and Max and Frida aren't on the best terms-" I couldn't help but snort at that careful wording, but Dylan ignored me. "-but they're my friends for better or worse," Dylan sighed. "And you know Terra isn't an asshole. She's just confused about her priorities."

"I'll say," I muttered. "How can she accuse me of keeping Nudge and Gazzy's mutual interest from her? I get told almost daily that I have no grasp on people's feelings."

Dylan smiled again. "Just try not to be too self-righteous, okay?" he suggested. I narrowed my eyes at him, but he stood his ground. "Come on Max, you know what I mean."

"I am not self-righteous!" I insisted.

"Max." He was annoyingly unresponsive to my decisiveness.

"I'm not!"

"Max, I'm not going to argue with you," Dylan replied calmly.

"You are arguing, right now!" Now I just felt like I was whining, but what else could I do?

"No, I said your name," he corrected me. "You don't have to agree with me, but I'm sure you have to have at least an idea of what I'm talking about." Dylan glanced around, apparently just as unsure as I was of what to do next. "Anyway… I'm glad you're safe," he said seriously. "And try not to let Max II get too close to you. He's way too good at finding people's weak spots, and you don't need the extra stress."

I stared at him, wondering what deity had decided to screw around with me today. "Thanks," was all I could manage to say. "I'll keep that in mind."

Dylan nodded just one too many times, glanced around again, and turned as if to walk back down the street. "Well, I should get going. Curfew and all," he said awkwardly.

"Curfew?" I couldn't help but ask. "It's barely even four."

Dylan smiled again, but this time it was a little tighter, a little more cynical. He looked closer to the punk this morning than the guy who willingly followed ten feet behind me all the way to my house to make sure I didn't hurt myself any further. "You don't wanna know the rules at my house," was all he said in response. "Later, Max."

"Bye." I watched as he walked a couple steps down the sidewalk, then turned to open my front gate. I heard his footsteps halt, and involuntarily whirled back around to look at him again. "What?" I demanded.

"Nothing," Dylan assured me quickly, looking startled at my vehemence. "Just checking to make sure you got to the door."

I looked away from him again. "Oh. Okay." I made the small trip from my front gate to front door without any mishaps, then turned back to see him still standing there. "I'm fine," I said, curling my hand around the doorknob. "Thanks again."

"No problem," he replied, turning around again. "It's my pleasure."

I didn't know how to respond to that, so I didn't. Instead, I opened the door and stepped inside my house.

Who was waiting for me but my very own, elusive boyfriend?

"Was that Dylan?" was his first, quiet question. Fang pushed himself off the couch with his usual grace, heading toward me. Instead of his usual move to touch me in some way- hand, arm, chin- he just stood stiffly in front of me.

"Yeah," I said, just as quietly. All of the turmoil of the day was starting to exhaust me. I didn't know what to do next. "Where did Judy go?"

"She had swim practice," Fang informed me. "Do you not like her?"

The direct question woke me up a little. "I have nothing against Judy," I told him honestly. "I was just… surprised. I thought you were spending all that time working on your project by yourself."

"It was a partnered project, Max," Fang said gently. I could see the confusion and hesitation in his body language, even if he managed to keep the emotions off of his face. "I told you about it."

I frowned, wondering if he was right. "I seem to remember you saying in homeroom that you needed to talk to her about a math project, but that was awhile ago," I countered. "Do you just partner for every project?"

"Usually, actually," Fang confirmed. I couldn't help but let my eyebrows raise at this confession, unsure how to feel about it. "If we have a project in English I try to partner with Iggy or Judy, and this time it happened to be Judy. And she's one of the only people in my math class I can deal with for prolonged periods at a time."

I didn't really have a response to that. She was a nice girl, from what I could tell. Not once had I seen her try to flirt with Fang, or anyone else for that matter. She was even quieter than he was and kept mostly to herself, but was clearly an intelligent individual. I could see where Fang would like to work with her.

I had just gotten really absurdly jealous at the thought that he had been with her three different times today when I needed him. And why did I suddenly depend on his presence so much, anyway? I was Maximum Ride! I could handle myself in a few dramatic situations.

"Max?"

I snapped out of my thoughts only to find Fang looking worriedly at me. "Sorry," I murmured. "I'm just so out of it today. It's just-"

"Monday blues?" he finished, smiling a tiny bit.

I couldn't help but smile in response. He knew me too well. "Yeah," I admitted. "Sorry I reacted so badly to seeing you with her. It was uncalled for. I was just in a bad mood and had the worst feelings come over me when I saw you two…" I trailed off, fighting the urge to look away as I tried to confess my stupid weakness. "I just, missed you today. I got into some bad situations that I wished you were around to help me through."

"Bad situations?" Fang repeated, moving closer. The awkward wall between us seemed to evaporate as I could almost feel his protectiveness flare. "Like what?"

I sighed, letting him pull me into his arms. My mind was just too frazzled to deal with anything anymore. "Drama at lunch. Drama after school. More drama after school," I murmured into his shoulder. "Oh, and apparently Gazzy and Nudge have the hots for each other. Who woulda thunk?"

Fang was quiet for a moment, stroking carefully over my sore back. "Care to specify?" he asked quietly, his face pressing into my hair.

"Not really," I yawned, suddenly exhausted. "Can I tell you later? I'm pretty much done with everything right now. Like, figuratively done. Not literally. I have so much homework from Ms. Hell to finish still. It's a good thing Anne canceled practice." I yawned again, snuggling deeper into his shoulder. Fang was a comfy pillow. "Or maybe it's a bad thing. 'Cause all that bad drama happened. And Terra hates us all now, just letting you know. And Dylan isn't that much of an asshole, he walked all the way home ten feet behind me to make sure I didn't hurt myself."

"Max, I think you're babbling," Fang murmured back to me, sounding somewhat amused. "Do you wanna go take a nap or something?"

"Not when you're here," I yawned again. A vague question occurred to me, and I worked patiently to get it out of my mouth. "Why are you here?"

"I wanted to see what was up when I met you with Judy," he replied. "Come here, maybe you'll wake up with something to eat."

I followed wherever his arms were taking me. I trusted Fang, after all, with anything. "I'm sorry," I mumbled.

"You said that already," Fang reminded me, sitting me down somewhere stable. "It's okay. I'm sorry I left you alone today. That was really crappy of me to do to you, and you didn't deserve it."

"Thanks, Fang," I murmured, smiling happily. I set my head down on another stable surface right in front of me. Perfect.

"Max, you said you didn't want to sleep." Fang's voice sounded from somewhere nearby, still sounding amused.

"I don't want to deal with anything else that might happen today though," I moaned, snuggling my face into the hard, smooth surface.

Fang didn't reply, but a couple minutes later something hot was placed gently in front of me. I felt my hand being picked up and wrapped around the hot object. "Max, drink this," he instructed.

I attempted to lift my head, but it didn't work. "Fang, I think I broke my neck," I whined. "It isn't workinggggggg."

"Let me help," he offered. Even in my current state I could almost hear the smirk in his voice. In a moment, I felt myself being lifted from the chair, with all of the horrible plummeting feelings that came with being carried.

"Faaaaaaanngggggg," I whined. "You knooowww I hate being picked uppp."

"It's okay," he assured me, "it's just for a second. See?" I felt myself being wrapped in his arms, then settled back down on a much comfier surface. "Drink the tea, Max."

My eyes shot open as a hot surface met my lips. I almost sprayed all of the tiny sip of tea I had managed to take in as I jolted back to consciousness. "Fang!"

"You awake?" he asked, his tone seemed a bit too even.

It was then that I realized that what had seemed like a warm chair with a seatbelt to my sleepy mind was actually Fang's lap with his arm wrapped firmly around my waist. I twisted to glare at him. "You are getting way too comfortable with manhandling me, mister," I informed him. Then my mind seemed to wake up, and I realized something much more important. "That tea was really good," I remarked, reaching for the mug again. "Damn, Fang, you just have more and more hidden talents."

"What can I say?" he murmured into my neck, his arms tightening around my waist. I couldn't help but shiver, but it was the best kind of shiver that I had ever experienced. I took another sip of tea as Fang continued: "I'm an enigma."

"You're my enigma," I replied, nudging him with my elbow as I downed the tea. "Stay that way, mmkay?"

"Of course," Fang agreed. "Don't worry Max, no one could make me stay away from you."

"No one?"

"No one."

Someone's POV

"So did it work?"

The boy sighed, looking away.

"I said, did it work?" The voice got sharper.

The boy glared at the floor. "Yes, it worked," he confirmed. "It worked very effectively."

"Good."

There was silence, broken only by the sound of keys clicking away, new information being inputted to the files.

"Also, we gained a sympathizer today," the other boy said.

The keys stopped clicking. "A sympathizer?" The man asked, his voice smooth and unreadable.

"Yes. She feels betrayed and discarded by almost the entire group of subjects. She will prove useful."

There was a moment of silence as the man thought this over. "That may be useful indeed," he acknowledged at last. The keys started clicking again.

The boys sat there in silence, waiting for the next order.

"Continue your previous orders. Stay low until commands change."

"Yes sir."

"Yes… sir."

Haha… hi.

Can anyone say aca-awkward? Ahaha…haha…ha…

I'd like to give a rousing THANK YOU to several people: MaximumRider99, iluviggyhesthebest, and ArtificiallyIntelligent! Thank you for your support and buttkicking that helped me update this story at long last! and thank you to everyone else who reviewed and alerted and favorited even when it looked like nothing else was coming! You're all so amazing!

I'm not really sure how I feel about School Days still… it's my baby, but there's still so much plot left… will it be worth it, guys? Let me know.

Love you all! (: Review please?

~TMI~