School Days

Chapter 28

"I won't be coming back Ari...not for a long time."

The three year old looked up at his father. "You leave like Mommy did?"

Jeb sighed. "No. You're mother died. I have...business to attend to. You'll be find here."

"I want to go with you Daddy."

"No." The man shook his head. "You would just mess everything up, Ari. You must stay here. Be good while I'm gone."

"No!" Ari grabbed onto his father's pants leg, holding onto him. "Stay!"

"Ari let go!" Jeb pushed him off. "I have to go. One day, you'll understand. I swear, I'll be back, just wait. Things will be so much better for us later. But for now, I need you to stay here."

"Daddy!" Ari called as Jeb walked out of the room, leaving him alone. "Daddy!"

The three year old shot up in bed. It had been a month since his father had left and he still had these horrible nightmares, all about his dad leaving him. Then he found out that his father left with his friends, Max and the others. But he didn't take him with them. Why? What's wrong with him? Fang didn't like him, his mother's dead, and now his daddy's gone. What has he ever done? What did he do to deserve this?

"Max."

I moaned, pushing however was next to me away. "Go."

"Nope. Jeb said that you have to get up. Now."

"Fang, come on."

"No. Today, we're going to practice flying. You promised Nudge that you would help her." Fang pulled on my hand, pulling me up. "Come on. We're all waiting for you."

"But I'm tired." I yawned, walking over to my closet. "You just want me up so that we can spar again. I'll still kick your ass."

"In your dreams. Yesterday was just luck." Fang said.

"Yeah, okay."

We had been here for only a month and now it was kind of...nice. It was definitely different from the School. A lot better if you ask me.

"Just hurry up." Fang told me before walking out of the room. I sighed. The one thing that I hate about here is that we actually have to change clothes every day. Do you know how weird that is? Jeb bought us all these clothes and stuff. That's nice of him and all but I still can't help but wonder what happened to his son, Ari.

"Max, come on!" I heard Iggy yell. "You're breakfast is cold."

I sighed. "Coming Ig!"

I grabbed a shirt and a pair of jeans, and put them on, not really caring what they were. See, unlike Nudge, who has this thing about looking as good as possible, I don't care about clothes. Maybe it's because I've never had them, I don't know, I just know that I don't care for how they look. I walked down stairs to find Nudge still eating, she's an bottomless pit, I swear, and the others watching TV. I have officially fallen in love with the TV. I don't see how I ever made it through life without it. I sat down next to Nudge and started eating.

"You're gonna help me today, right Max?" Nudge asked me, hope in her eyes.

"Yeah. I promised, didn't I?"

She smiled. "Thanks Max."

"Max, would you hurry up?" Iggy asked, impatient as ever. "Some of us would like to get this over with."

I stuck my tongue out at him. "You're just mad that you can't fly as good as me."

"You're just jealous because you're a horrible cook."

I sighed. He was right. About the being the better cook thing. I never get jealous. Ever. See, even though Iggy's blind, Jeb started to teach him how to cook. He's pretty good too. Not that I'd ever tell him that...

"Please, I am a way better cook than you."

"Everyone who things that Max a good cook say Aye."

"Aye!" I said, though everyone else kept their mouths shut.

"Oppose say Nay."

"Nay." Iggy said.

"Nay, I'm a horse!" Gasman proclaimed.

"Nay." Nudge agreed, smiling sheepishly at me. Get it? She did the horse thing but I said sheep? Get it? No...never mind....

"Nay." Fang mumbled but I heard him.

"Fang!"

"What? You can't even make cereal Max."

I glared at him. "Jerk."

Fang's POV

"What Iggy?" I asked as he opened my bedroom door.

"I wanted to know where Max is."

"Why do you think I would know?"

He shrugged. "You guys are always together."

"Are not."

"Are too."

"Apparently not seeing as she's not here."

"What? Did you guys have a fight or something?"

"No."

"Aw did you guys break up?" Iggy laughed. "Poor Fang. His girlfriend broke up with him."

"Max is not my girlfriend!"

Max's POV

"Night Nudge."

"Night Max." She smiled at me. "Thanks for helping me with my flying."

"No problem Nudge."

"Oh, and Max?"

"Yeah."

"Iggy's right, you are a horrible cook." She smiled still. "But you're breath smells better than his."

I laughed a little. "Thanks Nudge. See you in the morning."

"Night."

I walked out of the room and started down the hall. Iggy was standing in the doorway of Fang's bedroom.

"-girlfriend broke up with him."

Wonder what they're doing. I walked up to them as Fang lunged at Iggy.

"Max is not my girlfriend!" Fang tackled Iggy onto the floor of the hallway. I just stared at the two of them for a second. Fang looked up at me. "Hey Max."

I walked over them and into my bedroom, closing the door behind me. I didn't feel bad. I didn't. I knew that I wasn't Fang's girlfriend. I never was. I mean, I sort of was but that's when we were little kids. Stupid little kids. It didn't mean anything. I sat down on my bed. Why do I care if he doesn't like me? I don't care. I really don't. And I shouldn't care. And I don't. I don't. I really don't.

Fang's POV

"Uh-oh." Iggy said as I got off of him. "You're not-girlfriend heard you."

"So?" I helped him up.

"Come on Fang. You know that Max likes you."

"Does not." I thought about pushing him down again but found better of it. "We're friends."

"Since when?"

I shrugged. "We always have been friends."

"Never seemed like it."

I glared at him. "What would you know about me and Max?"

"I've had to deal with you guys my whole life so I would say more than I need to."

"Yeah, well you're wrong."

"Tell Max that then." Iggy nodded at her door. "Unless you guys really do have something going on."

I closed my eyes. "Fine. I don't need to tell her, seeing as she knows but if you're that obsessed with us, I'll inform her of it. Happy?"

"Gee, am I, the blind one, happy? Well, besides the sight thing, I could really use some pizza right now."

"Fuck off Iggy." I walked over to Max's bedroom door a opened it. Max was sitting on her bed, staring off into space. Here goes nothing. "Max?"

She looked up at me. "Hey Fang."

"Hey." I closed the door behind me before walking in and sitting down across from her.

"What did you want?" She asked after a minute of silence. Here goes nothing.

"Max...you know that you're my best friend right?"

Max looked at me. "Best friend?"

"Yeah...I mean, Iggy's great and all but you're better."

She looked away again. "Why did you want to tell me that?"

"Well, Iggy thinks that we're, uh, you know. Together."

"So?"

"Well, we're not. And I think that you heard me tell him that and...you didn't think, I mean, don't want us together do you?"

Max rolled her eyes at me. "Ew. You? God, I pray that I could do better."

I laughed. "Sorry but I'm as good as it gets."

"Then I might as well go kill myself now."

I stood up and walked to the door. I had just opened it when Max spoke again.

"Hey Fang?"

I turned to look at her. "Yeah Max?"

"You're my best friend too."

I gave her a rare smile and she gave me one back. "I know Max."

Max's POV

Best friends. I sighed, getting up and stretching. I'm best friends with my best friend. That makes sense, right? I mean, what wouldn't make sense would be, I'm in love with my best friend. That's impossible. Right?

And it's over. Someone asked about a sequel, and I left it like that so that, if I never get around to doing one, you could just pick up from the book. I think I'll do one but I really want to finish the rest of my stories before starting something new. I think this story, over all, turned out alright...sort of.