Hey, so I know that you're all mad at me. This has been a really rough year for me. A lot has happened, and I don't feel like explaining it. You'll just have to trust that I've been having a really difficult time just balancing my life at all. I'm not even going to promise that I'll update again soon, because it's almost finals week and that would be a rash promise to make. I'll try my best –because I've got the next couple of chapters written in my head. To be honest, I didn't know any of this was going to happen. I just had a pen and a notebook, and this happened. I think I like it. Sorry if it's depressing, but it's what ended up on the paper. As for the piano thing –I'm not that good at piano yet, but sometimes when I'm playing a piece that I like (or just messing around and making stuff up) I sort of feel like the piano is playing me and I can't seem to stop until I mess up. Seriously, I've sat in front of a piano for hours before, without even realizing it how long I was there.

ANYWAY, enjoy. Sorry for the delay and thanks for the reviews.

Disclaimer: I do not own Maximum Ride. I DO own the song that she's playing in my head (try and make sense of that one!)

The rest of the day incredibly uncomfortable. I felt as though Fang was more distant that he'd ever been before. Even in the year that I couldn't see him, I had still felt that if he were there I wouldn't be alone. I suddenly had doubts about our friendship. I followed him like a shadow, hoping that he would simply acknowledge me warmly again. I couldn't read his face, and he wouldn't meet my eyes long enough for me to figure out what he was thinking. For the second time since I'd seen him after the craziness, I wondered who the boy in front of me was. This boy with dark, cold eyes, that wouldn't look me in the face. Who was this person?

Had I done something wrong? It obviously couldn't have been something that I said. It wasn't even that he was being rude, or mean, or cruel. Simply, detached. His comments short and choppy, as though he was constantly anticipating the end of our 'conversations'.

"Are you going to follow me into the bathroom, Max?" I stopped, realizing that I had been blindly following him down the hall for some time now. I had no idea where we even where. I stared blankly at him, the sign next to him really was a boys bathroom, and I had obviously been about to follow him inside. I shook my head as someone nearby snickered. A blush filled my cheeks, and once again I nervously glanced at his face. My heart dropped. He wasn't looking at me. What did I do?

"Just wait here. I'll be right back, and then we'll find the others and walk home." His tone seemed mild, but I couldn't help but notice the undercurrent of anger in his voice. I felt that if I could see his eyes, they would be furious and frightening looking.

He walked into the bathroom and I began the awkward process of standing and waiting alone in a hallway. Within moments, the red-headed nuisance was standing in front of me. I got the eerie feeling that she'd been stalking us until she could catch me alone.

"You know, just because he's hanging out with you, doesn't mean that he likes you." I tried not to roll my eyes. If that was so, then why was she making such a big deal about telling me about it? "I don't want you to think that you're all high and mighty just because he was nice to you. Before you showed up, he was nice to lots of girls. Here soon, he'll get sick and tired of you, and he'll be finished with you and onto another girl."

I tried to keep her words from stinging, but I couldn't keep the recent picture of his cold eyes out of my head. I thought that we were best friends, that he rescued me because that could never change for him, but what if he was sick of me now? What if I'd changed too much and now I got on his nerves or something? What if he hated me now, and was only being nice because he knew that I didn't have any other friends or anywhere else to go?

"You're nothing, Max. Nothing. If I'd been your step-parent, I would've beaten you too. Except if it had been up to me, maybe you wouldn't have gotten out so lucky." I recoiled from her in shock. How could she possibly know that? "Didn't expect me to know that little secret, did you? Well guess what little Maxi, pretty soon I'm going to make sure that everyone knows your secret. You can't expect me to keep good gossip like this to myself, can you?"

I punched her pretty hard. She reeled back with a pained cry, cradling her face with both hands and trying to stem the probably blood gushing from her nose. I shoved her into the wall, getting in her face, and giving her a menacing glare. Her eyes widened.

"Okay, I won't say anything! I promise!" She wheezed. Her voice was even more nasally due to the steady flow of blood rushing down her face and onto her light pink top. Her face was filled with fear, and when I recognized the look of terror in her eyes, I took a step back in horror.

I'd done it again. I'd become monster-Max –destroyer of happiness and peace. I'd hit another person and used force in order to intimidate them. Again. What was wrong with me? I took another step back, before I took off running down the hall. What was wrong with me?

I ran with no direction, shoving kids out of my way and hating myself even more for it. Somehow, I found myself at the choir room. It was empty, which was both peaceful and strange. It was an undisturbed silence that I hadn't had the chance to enjoy in a very long time. Unfortunately, I couldn't seem to enjoy it now either. It wasn't until I found myself completely alone that I allowed the tears to come. Why could I just ignore that red-headed brat? Was it because I believed her about Fang? Was it because she knew and was threatening to tell my life to the rest of the school? Or, was she just annoying?

Regardless of the circumstance, I'd still used violence against her. I was sick. I was a monster –just like that man. I was just like him. Why couldn't I just ignore her? Why did I have to be so disgusting? Anything would have been better than hitting her. Yet, I couldn't stop myself. What was wrong with me?

Suddenly, it felt like the room was too quiet. I felt lonely. Some sad part of me actually wanted someone, anyone, to come and hug me and tell me that everything was alright. The rest of me felt like I deserved it, and didn't want anyone to see me this way anyway.

My eyes slid over to the piano. It had been a long time since I had practiced. I took a cautious step towards it. Maybe, while I was sitting here alone…I took a seat at the bench and stared at the keys for a moment. The familiar keys of classic black and white brought me a slight bit of comfort.

It was a nice piano. I wondered how well I could remember the last piece that I played. It wasn't too difficult, I'd memorized it, and I'd practiced it until I didn't even realize when I was playing it most of the time. Two years was a long time though.

I wiped my tears and set my fingers on the keys. They were cool –I breathed a sigh of relief. I practiced my scales and chord progressions to warm up, and since my hands seemed to remember what to do I started playing the piece. It was upbeat, and fairly simple, and I made it through the song with only a few hitches. I played it again, but halfway through it the upbeat pleasant melody started to grate on my upset, depressed mood. It was too happy.

As if of their own accord my hands shifted into another key. A sad somber music filled the air. I wished I could stop to write down what I was playing for later, but it was almost like the piano was playing me. There seemed to be no way to stop it. The tears began again, and it felt like my whole body was ignoring everything that I was telling it to do.

I was whimpering slightly along with my tears, though at first I hadn't noticed it. I tried to stop –but again my body wouldn't listen to my brain. A scratch began in the back of my throat, but slowly became a sharp ache. It hurt to swallow back my tears.

My hands yanked away, grabbing my face as I sobbed into them –hoping somewhere in the back of my mind that everyone had left campus for home and that nobody heard me. I felt like I was breaking all over again. Why couldn't I stop this nonsense?

What was wrong with me?

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