Iggy

I stared intently at the screen, chuckling to myself every now and then when Nudge buried her face in my shoulder with a shriek, unable to handle the gory deaths on screen. "You know, the point of a movie is to watch it," I whispered in her ear minutes after Max had left to get popcorn.

"Shut up," she scowled, smacking my chest lightly and sending a small smile my way. Had I not been utterly caught up in the bloody effects on screen I might have smirked back and flirted along, but of course, I was much more of the type to figure out how to make a new bomb than to figure out a girl's number. Especially with Lupo being back in my life. Even though she had turned off recently, and I was stuck broken hearted, it was nice to try and push the weight of our world off my shoulders for a night and just focus on mine.

"Shhh!" Ari hushed, now sitting up and staring at the screen the same way he stared at a burger before devouring it whole. He seemed more interested in the movie we had started since Max left than the last one. This one did have better graphics; although it focused on the cliche couple honeymooning in a haunted house. The husband had just had his heart ripped out by a man with extremely good aim with a knife. Blood splattered all over as the woman screamed from the top of the stairs and took off down the hall; the man much too busy with the deceased husband's heart to go after her. Yet.

"How long does it take to pop popcorn?" Fang whined as the minutes ticked by. Max had been gone twenty minutes already, which was more than enough time for her to pop for bags and head back up the stairs. I frowned to myself. Each bag took around three minutes to cook. She should be back by now.

"Shut up," Ari growled at Fang before turning back to the movie, focusing on the woman's muttering in an attempt to come up with a plan. I rolled my eyes and shrugged at Fang, causing Nudge to groan as I forcibly adjusted her head off my shoulder. She sat up straighter and continued watching the safe part of the movie while we all silently waited for Max. Each of us held the question within us, though I'm sure everyone was too worried about Ari to ask. What was taking Max so long? I sighed, deciding to be the volunteer of this group and head off to find where my friend had managed to get lost to in this large house.

"I'll be right back," I announced, causing Ari to throw a pillow at me at rapid-fire speed. My reflexes seemed to slow down as the pillow flew towards me, causing it to slam in my face and for me to stumble back before I had any time to react. I mumbled under my breath before heading out of the room and slamming the door behind me just to annoy Ari.

As I passed my room, I didn't even bother to check up on Lupo. She wouldn't need me to check on her. She'd be too busy staring at a wall; that was much more interesting than me. There was a part of me; the sensual part, that understood why she was acting so distant and broken, but the boyfriend part of me, the part that craved her approval, was too selfish to realize she just needed some space.

In all reality, I just wanted to kiss her again and get a reaction out of her. I wanted to hug her and have her hug me back. I wanted to be able to cry and have her hold me, I wanted to laugh and have her be the cause of it. I wanted her to be my everything; but she couldn't be that if she was busy wilting away in a trance-like state.

Sighing to myself, trying not to get too caught up in my thoughts, I made my way down the stairs, my bare feet padding against each carpeted steps as I walked down them, descending into the living room. There, I found Max, sitting on the couch with three bowls filled with popcorn; a rhythmic buzzing noise coming from the kitchen meaning a new bag of popcorn was popping.

"Hey," I greeted, ungracefully falling over the back of the couch and into her lap. Max smiled at me and shoved me onto the floor. I fell with a thud, groaning as my chin banged into the wooden flooring.

"Hey, Igster, what's going on?" Max chirped conversationally as I slowly pulled myself back onto the couch, sitting next to my friend as I popped a piece of popcorn into my mouth.

"Oh nothing, what's taking you so long?" I asked curiously, vaguely noticing the slight twitch in her fingers and the small hesitation in her words.

"I, um, burnt a few bags. Got lost in thought. The usual Maximum Ride stuff," Max muttered convincingly, taking some popcorn for herself and stuffing a handful into her mouth.

"Oh well, if you want to tell me the truth, you know where I am," I said finally after we sat in silence for awhile, our only company being the popping noises coming from the kitchen. As I stood up to leave, my ear twitched from the sound of Max standing as well. Her long fingers wrapped around my bicep and she tugged at my arm weakly, like a little kid who wanted to go to the candy shop.

"I, I don't want to get your hopes up, but I was talking to Lupo and she…" I stared at Max intently, practically drooling in anticipation as I waited for her next words. What? Was Lupo up and running? Was she talking? Was she smiling? Could the one time I walked past her door without a second glance been the time she would have looked at me, and wrapped her arms around my neck in a hug?

"What? What'd she say?" I asked eagerly, feeling my hand shake against my leg in elation at all the wonderful thoughts running through my mind.

"She-, well, she said she's awake."

A week had gone by since I had confirmed that Max was lying. Lupo wasn't awake. She wasn't even risking a small smile at my stupid jokes anymore. She was completely and utterly dead. She hardly moved, and when she did it was only because she had to. She only ate when I forced the food down her throat, and the only reason she ever woke up was because she had slept all the sleep away. Sometimes, when Max doesn't know it, I'm glaring at her. I don't like the fact that there's something inside my heart that's twisted how I think of her, but it's hard to so easily smile at the person who rose your hopes like the tide before they crashed back down into the sand and withered out into the ocean. Too far away to swim to.

"You know, looking at Max like you want to kill her probably isn't the smartest thing to do," Nudge whispered in my ear, catching me off guard by her sudden appearance. Like every morning- or what Nudge considered morning, at least. Her shimmering hazel eyes were tired and attempting to close shut, her mass of curls lay in a messy nest on her head, and her baggy pajamas threatened to fall off her hips and shoulders. I noted that one of her sleeves had fallen off of her shoulder, showing the strap to the tank top she wore underneath her crop top.

"Oh, I was?" I asked quietly, glancing back at the person I used to call a friend. She was having a bright conversation with Fang while Ari just glared at the two, obviously hearing something he didn't like. Probably one of Fang's corny pickup lines.

"Yeah, you were. I don't blame you though, there's always something to hate about Max. Personally, I hate how easily she can lie to me. It makes me furious," Nudge shrugged nonchalantly as if I was glaring at Max for something as little as that. I guess in a way, Max had lied to me, but it wasn't just a lie. It was like telling someone your Dad was alive after you had watched him die, and then you finding out it was some sick joke. Of course, Max didn't mean to bring these emotions onto me; I brought them on myself. She had told me she didn't want to get my hopes up, but I hadn't listened. All I could focus on anymore was Lupo.

Maybe that was a problem. I sighed to myself, wondering how I could solve it. The answer was; there is no answer. I couldn't solve my problem without the kid, and there was no way my scrawny figure could bust into the School, get a test tube baby, and get out. I let a groan of annoyance escape my lips as Nudge dipped her finger in what was left of the pancake batter and licked it off with ease; like she had done every morning I had made pancakes.

"You're going to get salmonella," I scolded playfully, taking my spatula and swatting her hand with it.

"What? No I won't," Nudge scowled at me before walking out of the kitchen. I contemplated following for a moment before deciding I liked her presence better than Max's, and went along.

"So, what were your plans today?" I asked curiously as Nudge collapsed on the couch. I took a seat next to her, watching as she sucked in a breath of fresh air and stared down at her bare feet.

"I was going to go out to the town today, actually, wanna come with?" Nudge asked, the scowl that previously owned her face replaced with a look of curiosity.

"I'd love too!" I cheered, getting to my feet to head out when something caught my mind. Lupo. "Oh, but, I um, I can't. I have to take care of Lupo," I spoke quietly, feeling my shoulders slump in disappointment. It'd been a week since I got to go out and explore the town, but my girlfriend was too important to leave behind.

"Oh, come on, she can take care of herself," Nudge urged, punching my bicep lightly, a smirk playing on her lips.

"I know, I just, I'd feel better knowing she's okay rather than just thinking it."

"Iggy, she's not a pet, stop treating her like one," Nudge spoke sternly, catching me off guard. My jaw dropped and my ego stung from the hit it had taken. How could Nudge say something like that? Of course I didn't treat Lupo like a pet… did I?

"Nudge that's-"

"Iggy, come on. Max, Fang, and Ari will all be here if something goes wrong, and we have Ari on speed dial," Nudge added, tapping her watch. I thought for a minute, letting my heart slowly rip in half as I made my decision. Leave Lupo alone for a few hours, or stay stuck in this house forever.

"Well, alright," I finally decided, figuring nothing could go wrong even in my demented life.

Nudge squealed happily and jumped up and down in her excitement. "Great! I'll go get ready!" And with that she sprinted up the steps, three at a time, and I went upstairs too, just to get ready; just to check up on Lupo one more time.

A smile spread across my face as we waited in line at the food court of the small mall in town. We were currently waiting to order over-sized burgers and cheese fries along with extra large chocolate shakes that I would attempt to pay for. Nudge had been insisting I shouldn't bother because she could literally forge money to perfection at the touch of a button, but I felt like being nice; and since I had just won the battle, you could see why I was smiling.

"You know, you do realize you're wasting money, right?" Nudge asked with a huff, crossing her arms over her chest.

"Well it's money wasted well then," I said, winking at her jokingly. Nudge giggled and shoved me out of line. I stumbled lamely, struggling to regain my balance before standing next to her once again, hip-bumping her away from me.

Nudge gasped in mock hurt before walking back into the line and attempting to push me out of line once more. Only this time I was ready, and side-stepped her just in time for her to fall flat on her face. I laughed out loud as she screeched suddenly, reaching out and clutching onto my red tee shirt in a feeble attempt to keep from falling. She still crashed onto the black and white checkered tiles before; all the while the people in line behind us glaring viciously.

"Damn teenagers," one muttered and I rolled my eyes to myself as I reached a hand out to help Nudge up. Her fingers interlocked with mine, and I carefully pulled her onto her feet, glancing over her for bumps and bruises. When I found nothing but her flawless skin in my vision, I shrugged off any chance of worry and chuckled a little before we both fell into a comfortable silence, moving forward with the line slowly; taking each step like a zombie walking towards an incinerator

We waited in line for at least thirty minutes before I finally ordered our food and managed to pay with cash, even leaving a five dollar tip in the jar. For another thirty minutes we waited for food impatiently. Nudge complaining about her growling stomach while I jiggled my leg in annoyance.

"At my restaurant back home we got food out within fifteen minutes of each order. Speed and organization is all we need, why can't these people get it?" I asked myself more than Nudge.

"Well, you're the best of the best, Iggy, these people are just losers who try to be as good as chefs like you," Nudge explained honestly and I smirked at her knowingly.

"Well, I am a role model," I spoke, flipping my longish strawberry blonde hair as best I could. It fell into my eyes and I quickly brushed it away, watching as Nudge opened her mouth to go into a long rant about who knows what.

"Table fifteen, your food's ready!" A monotonous voice boomed over an echoing intercom, interrupting the speech Nudge was about to make. I grinned apologetically at her, and headed off to get the food while she saved our booth.

"You table fifteen?" A guy wearing a cherry red hat asked, raising an eyebrow at me as I reached for the sack of food.

"Um, last I checked I'm not a table, or fifteen," I spoke honestly, snatching the food up and turning to leave.

"Hey! No tip?" The guy snapped and I spun around with a smirk on my face.

"Oh yeah, here's a tip, you should wear a different hat," I said before heading back to the booth, leaving a fuming fast food worker to spit in somebody else's food.

"So I kid you not, the shoes flew through the window, and glass shattered everywhere!" Nudge exclaimed, finishing a story that had seemed to go on forever. We were already almost back home by the end of the thirty minute monologue; our stomachs full and our bodies tired from a long day of shoving stupid-looking clothes on to laugh at ourselves.

"I can't believe it, but then what happened with-"

"Well, he lost control of the truck and crashed so badly that the thing exploded thirty seconds later. Of course, Ari was out of the truck by then and Max wasn't with him you know, since she was stuck in the hotel."

"Then what happened with Max?" I asked, having been thoroughly engaged since Nudge had mentioned something about an explosion twenty minutes ago.

"Then the- AAGGHHH!" Nudge cried out suddenly as she fell to the ground, rolling partially in the dead leaves that littered the forest floor.

"Nudge!" I exclaimed, trying to hold my laughter in as she groaned lowly, her hair lost in the twigs and leaves stuck in it. However, my laughter subsided when she finally pushed herself into a sitting position with tears streaming down her face.

"Hey, hey, it's okay. What's wrong?" I asked quietly, dropping down next to my friend only to find a puddle of crimson red blending in with the dark fall colors of the leaves. I glanced back up at Nudge, holding her face in my hands and swiping the fresh tears away. "Tell me what's wrong," I demanded gently, forgetting everything else for a moment. I even forgot about Lupo in this minute. Had anyone asked who she was I wasn't sure I could give a confident answer.

"M- my ar- arm," Nudge sniffled and I gently took her left arm in my hands, staring down at the slightly deep gash near her wrist. It was about seven inches long and a centimeter deep. It needed stitches definitely, but I didn't have access to that kind of advanced medical technology in the old, dusty cabin we were living in.

"How did you manage to do this?" I breathed out through a small laugh. It was humorous in a way, how Nudge was such a klutz she managed to cut herself this bad in a forest full of leaves and twigs.

"D- don't l- laugh at m- me," she stuttered, trying to force the tears back down to wherever they came from. I sighed and shook my head at her, quickly pulling my shirt off and ripping it in half, wrapping it around the wound as tightly as I could.

"I swear, if you stay around, I'm going to walk around shirtless for the rest of my life," I joked, hoping to lighten the mood, wanting her to calm down so I wouldn't have to worry about her going into a panic attack.

Nudge let out a throaty laugh and forced a smile onto her face just for me. Only now, looking into her beautiful dark eyes did I realize how close we were. Only now did I realize how nice it had been being able to spend a day out with a girl once more. Only now did I realize that this was what I needed.

She continued to stare at me through her long lashes and I hesitantly leaned a bit closer until our lips were molded together; and all at once we were kissing.

I feel like this chapter is corny and cliché, but Iggy's pretty corny and cliché so whatevs. Also it may seemed a bit rushed but I went through and tried to edit it but I don't know.

I have been informed asking questions is against the rules so I guess no more questions

Soar on

VR

P.S. REVIEW PLEASE!