Guess who's back? ;)

Max POV

I awoke to see sunlight streaming through my light blue curtains, and I sat up, stretched, and trudged down the stairs. I searched for some cereal or breakfast items, but all that I produced was an empty box of cereal and some rotten bananas.

Looks like I'm eating out this morning. I thought, and I grabbed my jacket, not bothering to change out of my sweat pants and t-shirt. I put on my jacket as I walked out to my car, and when I unlocked the car, I saw Fangs ashen house that lay down the street, and Marks house that resided two houses down from it. Last night, my constant thoughts of Mark and Fang kept me awake until I could no longer hold my eyes open. And after all that, I still hadn't chosen a single one of them. I just can't win.

When I parked my car, I got out, locked the car, and started towards the door of the diner when I saw Mark and Fang talking at one of the booths. Oh no.

I entered the diner, and Fang looked up and waved me over. I tried to look surprised and happy to see them, and I suppose they bought it.

"Hey, Max!" they both said, and I waved and smiled. I sat down next to Mark, and I looked at both of them.

"Why are you guys here?" I asked, and Fang shrugged, but Mark couldn't act well enough.

"We have some pretty frickin' awesome news," said Mark, and I looked at him, puzzled. He then turned his attention to Fang. "Do you want me to tell her? Or do you want the honor?"

Fang smirked and locked eyes with me. "The bad news is, I can't do Winter X. But the good news is, the rule says that in the event of an injury that prohibits you from participating, someone can take your spot. That someone is Mark," he said, and I gaped.

"NO WAY!" I exclaimed, and they both nodded.

"Nudge, Iggy, and Kent still get to be guest judges, and we'll be watching from the front row," said Mark, and they both smiled at me.

"This couldn't get better!" I said, and Nudge and Iggy walked in, both grinning. Apparently they knew about this as well.

"I'm so happy right now," Iggy said, giving us all his trademark genuine grin.

"We leave for Winter X tomorrow," I said, "so let's go get our stuff packed and go bring home a medal. This one's for you guys!" I pointed to all of them, and I got grins and laughs in return. And this one really will be for them.