Sorry for the wait! It's really been a while, hasn't it? Well, here's the next chapter, anyway.

And this is for Melissa, the guest reviewer: Yes. You can be very annoying, Melissa, but your reviews do also remind me to update, so it's like a double-edged sword, you know?

Disclaimer: IDNOMR

Ch. 24:

Fang POV

"Fang, this is impossible!" Max complained. I only sighed in response. Why couldn't Ella have handled her angel training? Oh yes, she was currently very injured, but still, did she have to drop the bomb on me that I'd have to be training my supposed girlfriend to be an angel?

"You did it when the guardians asked you to, didn't you?"

"Well, I had to get back to see if you were alright then." Max bit her lip nervously, as if admitting that was somehow shameful or stupid. I blinked a couple times. Why did she have to be so cute? There were even times when I thought that once or twice Ella could've been telling the truth about me falling in love with a human.

"Max, just close your eyes and concentrate. See the place you want to go… and only that place, okay?" She nodded in response and snapped her eyes shut. Her face twisted in concentration. With a puff of blue smoke, she finally disappeared.

I sighed in relief. She had finally gotten it. I was beginning to wonder how angel trainers had so patience. I stood in place for at least a minute, waiting for her to appear by my side. That was, after all, where I had told her to orb.

I began to worry. Had she orbed somewhere else by accident?

As if on cue, she reappeared beside me. Her face was still adorably scrunched up, making me smile. I can see how I would've fallen for in the past. She was just so-

No, Fang. No. You didn't fall in love with a human.

"How was that?" She asked, looking up at me.

"It still needs some work, but… good." I responded.

She grinned with pride. "Well, I'm good for today. Let's go get some lunch. I'm starved."

I raised one eyebrow. "Aren't you always starved?"

"Yes. But that's not the point."

"So, where do you want to eat?" I asked politely, trying to keep away awkward situations. Many of those had happened in the past two weeks of training Max. Ever since I had woken up, it was like an unnatural urge came over me. There had been several occasions where I had wanted to kiss her, but I had resisted. I didn't want to give off the wrong impression. A part of me thought, Why not? She's an angel now, isn't she? I never listened to that part, though, because I knew that once Ella was sane again, we'd have to leave Max and all her friends behind.

The Flock really was something. Iggy was naturally hilarious. He was a bit overdramatic, but treated me like a brother all the same. He knew how to keep his distance and give me space, but also seemed to know when I wanted company. Which wasn't too often, but it did happen. Nudge talked more than I had previously thought humanly possible. In the past week that I have listened to the Nudge Channel, I have learned that heels can be over 7 inches high, that The Discovery Channel is 'highly inappropriate', and that apparently black was so last season. And yes, it is only coincidence that I have taken to wearing dark blue shirts recently. Angel was too sweet for words, but deceivingly intelligent. Gazzy is how I always imagined a little brother would be, constantly asking me for help with his most recent plan.

And then there was Max. She was something else entirely. She was her own person in a way I had never thought possible before. She did what she wanted, when she wanted. She ate just as much as I did. She wasn't afraid to laugh when I fell over a trip wire Iggy had set up for Max herself. Everyone else was. Her smile was contagious to me… and I hated it. I hated the fact that Max herself was someone I truly could fall in love with. I hated the fact that there was a possibility – no matter how small – that Ella hadn't been brainwashed and everything she claimed had actually happened. I hated the fact that life might not be the way I had imagined everything to be before.

"Fang. Fang. Fang!" Max demanded, waving her hand repeatedly in front of my face.

"Huh?"

"You zoned out again." Max explained.

"Oh."

"Yeah. Anyway, I was saying we should go over to In N' Out. There's one near here, you know." She stated.

"Okay." I responded. Around her, I tried to keep my answers short and sweet. If I talked too much I may accidentally end up proclaiming love.

We walked silently to the restaurant, where Max ended up ordering the same thing as me. Two cheeseburgers, a large fry, and a milkshake.

"What's it like?" Max blurted suddenly, before looking down at the table.

"What's what like?"

"Nothing… just…" She trailed off, a faint blush in her cheeks. "What's it like? Forgetting everything?" I stared at her, thrown off by her question. It was so direct. It was something I wouldn't answer no matter who asked. It was so like Max to ask it.

"It's… um… interesting." I began to tell her how it felt. Against my inner protests, might I add. "It's different. Really different. It feels like the world moved without me somehow, you know? Like someone suddenly decided to remove me from my life and then stuck me back there six months later." She nodded, taking in my assessment of the situation.

"Is it hard?" She looked up, meeting my eyes and my heart pounded. It was there again. The urge. I wanted to kiss her. I wanted to tell I love… which was preposterous, of course, but it didn't change the urge.

"Sometimes." I responded vaguely.

"For me, too." Max muttered, obviously not meaning for me to hear. Did Max really think I was in love with her? Of course she did. My mind answered me. If she didn't, why would she be here?

"Hey, Faaaaang?" Max asked slyly, drawing out my name and smirking.

"Yes?"

"You wanna have a contest?" She asked, her face lighting up as she spoke.

"A contest?"

"Yeah. A contest. Who can drink their milkshake faster, okay?"

"This is stupid." I told her honestly.

"No. It's fun." She said adamantly. "So, are you in? Or are you chicken, Fang?" She grinned at me.

"Whatever." I muttered, swiping my milkshake off the table.

"Okay. Three… two… one!" She exclaimed, grabbing her own milkshake and starting. I drank my milkshake fast, not thinking about anything for once. Well, nothing but the competition. The cool liquid poured down my throat. I had to be winning. Almost there…

"Done!" Max shouted victoriously. I looked up, surprised.

"You… won?" I asked.

"Yup." She answered smugly. "I am so awesome."

"Big woot. You can drink your milkshake faster."

"You're such a sore loser, Fang." She laughed. Then, she winced. "Oh crap."

I stared at her worriedly. "What?"

"Brain freeze." She answered shortly, clutching at her head. Quickly as ever though, her brain freeze seemed to go away.

Afterwards she stared at me. Just stared. It was a bit unnerving as she stared, but I didn't look away. Then, she burst out laughing.

"Oh, that was hilarious." She said through laughter.

Despite myself, I started to chuckle along with her. I knew I shouldn't. There was a voice inside me nagging that it wasn't right. Once Ella was no longer delusional, we could leave. Still I laughed. And still, I knew.

I knew that I really, really liked this girl.

Aww, slight Fax there. Come on, Fang. You're on the right track! Remember, dammit! Oh wait. Only I can make that happen. Heh… heh… heh.

Till next time,

-cutiepie5514