AN: ILuvMyFangPlushie here.

I am so, so, so sorry. I just…I've been depressed lately for multiple reasons. I've been busy with many things and I got scared to start writing fanfics again and began thinking that I lost my touch and you guys would hate everything. But then, I'd never forgive myself for quitting on you guys. So here I am.

Well, I'M BACK!

For real this time.

And I realized that I spelled the chicken sandwich wrong. My bad. Haha.

Thank you Mister Moronic for everything. Love you.

Thank you Skygirl68 and marietheham for reviewing.

Thank you Skye Eagle for favoriting my story.

Thank you QueenOfOlympus223 and ceilnw22 for reviewing, alerting to, favoriting me, and favoriting my story.

Thank you DashieTheGodofAwesomeness, Eliza-Belikov forever, Katsaluna13, kyishamarie, and Mistress Serena for favoriting me.

Thank you all of you guys for reading my story and for everyone who has been waiting after all this time.

My writing may become slightly different since I have been working on my own nonfanfic stories and since it's been almost a year since my last update.

Disclaimer: I do not own Maximum Ride and I never will.

I do however own this short story and Mister Oinkers. Hehe.

Font key: Fang's story is in italics and the story story is in normal print.

JUST A HUG

Gazzy is getting older. He hugs Mister Oinkers to his chest. Sometimes he feels embarrassed for still loving this stuffed toy.

Fang walks into the room. "What's wrong Gaz?"

"Is it wrong that I still love Mister Oinkers?" Gazzy whispers.

"Of course not, why would you think that?"

"It's not manly or grown up."

"Why does it need to be?"

"Because..." Gazzy holds up Mister Oinkers in front of him. "If I keep him around always, I'd still always be a child."

"There's more to being grown up than letting go of your childhood things. You don't always have to."

"I don't?" He hugs his pig to his chest again.

"You don't have to. You are the strongest and most grown up boy in the world."

"I am?" Gazzy says softly near tears.

"Absolutely." Fang sits onto the bed and holds open his arms.

Gazzy crawled into his arms.

"There's nothing wrong with crying either," Fang whispers.

Gazzy sniffles. "I know."

"Ready for your story?" Fang asks.

Gazzy nods his head.

Today was her fifth birthday.

Mister Oinkers knew that.

Gazzy smiled.

He seemed to be the only one that knew that.

She wanted to have a party.

He saw her making the invitations. He watched her on his little wooden shelf, as her eyes concentrated on making her beautiful hand drawn cards, days before. He watched her as she prepared for her party, as she scrutinized every detail.

He watches everything out of the window, as colorful balls of air and long colored papers cover the courtyard. There are things to be eaten and to be drunk as far as the eyes could see. She is wearing her pretty pink dress with her hair twisted up in ribbon. The maids and butlers roam around placing things here and there.

"Maids and butlers? Are we rich now Fang?" Gazzy said softly.

"Of course," Fang grins.

"Cool," Gazzy giggles.

Yet, He knows and she knows what was about to happen. Everything always happened the way it did.

The party was supposed to start at noon. It is 4 o'clock now. No one had come. No one ever comes.

"Oh...," Gazzy says.

Fang kissed his forehead. "Everything's okay buddy."

She does not have any friends.

"I don't have friends," Gazzy says softly.

"You have us. Me, Max, Iggy, Angel, Nudge. Mister Oinkers. We're your family, but we're also your friends."

"We're friends," Gazzy says smiling.

"Always."

She hopes that by having a party someone would come. She hopes that someone would come and she would finally have a friend.

She is lonely. He knows she is lonely. He wants to help her. He wants her to hold him and she would know that she is not alone, because he is always there for her.

Gazzy hugged Mister Oinkers to his chest and smiled.

But he is stuck on his shelf. She does not know of his existence. She has never seen him, let alone be able to reach him.

"Awwh," Gazzy said. "Thank you for giving me Mister Oinkers, Fang. I'd be very sad if I didn't know he existed."

"No problem Buddy," Fang replied.

He can not climb down to her. This shelf is too high and even if he decided that he wanted to take the risk and jump down to her, it is an impossibility. He can not move. He can not tell her that he loved her and wanted to be her friend. He can not speak or call out to her. He was nothing more than an inanimate object with no real distinguishable emotions.

All he could do is watch. All he could do is listen.

"Is that how Mister Oinkers really thinks?" Gazzy asked.

"If he did, he doesn't anymore. He has you now," Fang said.

"But he thought that before?"

"I don't know, Gazzy."

"Okay. He's happy now though?"

"Very happy."

Gazzy smiled. "Okay."

Her curtains are always open on this day to let the fresh air in and to help brighten up the room. No matter how bright the room shines the mood stays a gloomy grey.

There are always so many things to watch and to listen to yet, none of these things are things that he wants to see or hear. He does not want to watch her as she sits on her chair all alone, waiting for something different to happen and hoping that she would not have to spend her entire day alone. He does not want to hear the constant ticking away of the round numbered time keeper on the wall in front of him. He does not want to hear the music that would play when all he has ever heard was silence. The things that make up a party are nonexistent. There will be no people. There would not be any talking, chattering, or singing. Nothing, but the silence of the music that no one seems to enjoy.

He does not want the first real sound to be her crying. He does not want to watch as the watery drops flowed down her big brown eyes. He does not want to watch her run into the house and into her room, breaking down and sobbing for hours.

He wants her to be happy.

He watches as this day of sadness unfolds.

He watches as the entertainment start to appear. The bright white-faced people and the blown up houses were brought in. More edible things were put onto tables and the servants call around frantically moving items and placing objects where they are supposed to be.

He watches as she waits.

This year creatures were coming in with the bright white-faced people. The white-faced people had always come on their own. There are creatures this time. Some of the creatures were smaller than him and some were much bigger. He watches in wonder as the biggest creature he has ever seen walks off the truck. He was a grey and wrinkled beast with a very long nose. He can't even imagine what it would be like to be of that size and magnitude.

As the creature moves forward, it screams out. The sound that it made was louder than anything he has ever heard before. The sound pierced his small, floppy ears. His shelf shook. He tried to grab onto the wall behind him. He does not want to fall. Try as he might, he could not hold on. He can not grip onto anything with his soft hooves. These paws can not hold onto anything or even move a single hair. It scares him. He thinks that a fall from this height would crush him and the mighty shelf would fall onto him. He would cease to exist.

He does fall. He falls onto the hard ground and watches in horror as the shelf above him continues to shake.

Suddenly, the enormous creature from outside, halts its call and the shelf that could have ended his life stood still. He sighed in relief.

His eyes then moved up to the open window. He can no longer see the outside world and her lonely party. In a way, he is relieved. He no longer has to see her sitting there near tears.

"This is still bad, right Fang?"

"Why would this be bad?"

"Cause he can't be with her anymore…"

"Don't worry about it, Gazzy."

But, he also does not like his circumstance. He wants to see her. He loves her. He wants to be with her in her moments of suffering and pain, even if she never knew that he was. Now he can not be with her. He can not see her, so now all he can do is listen.

"See?" Gazzy said.

Fang pats his head.

The round numbered time keeper continued to tick onward. Hours pass by.

Her cries fill his ears. They get louder and louder, the closer she comes into the house.

He was wrong before. The big loud creature was not the loudest thing he has ever heard. Her cries are louder. They felt louder than anything any other creature can produce. The can make the whole room shake, but that is nothing compared to what she can do to him. Her cries can cause him so much pain. These watered cries cause him so much pain. He never knows what to do when she cries like this. She is once again heartbroken and there is nothing that he can do to help her.

Her cries continue to get louder and louder until the door to the room slams and her feet trample inside. She runs in like she always does, ready to jump onto her bed and climb under her covers continuing to cry.

Gazzy starts to sniffle.

Fang hugs him. "You okay, Buddy?"

He nods.

"Okay."

But this time, everything is different. This time, he is there on the hard ground. This time, he is in her way. This time, she runs and she trips and falls over him.

"Oh no," Gazzy gasped.

Her sobs stop for a second as she looks down at what trips her. She sees him. He sees her looking. Her eyes stay on him as she picks him up. She apologizes to him for stepping on him. She smiles and hugs him against her chest. Slowly, she walks to her bed and lies down with her face pressed against his soft fur. Her tears haven't stopped but they have become softer. Soon after, she falls asleep.

She does not seem to be as heartbroken, alone, or in pain. She seems to be happier.

So, he is happier, because now he has what he has always wanted.

Gazzy looked up at Fang and gave him a big smile, hugging Mister Oinkers to his chest.

Fang laid Gazzy down in his bed and tucked him in.

"Thank you Fang."

"I love you Gazzy. Never forget that okay?"

"Okay. Love you too, Fang."

"Goodnight Gazzy."

He hugged his pig to his chest even tighter. "Night Fang." He yawned.

Fang smiled and left the room.

AN: Like it, hate it, tell me what you think.

I hope you guys like it and I hope it was worth the wait. If not, well I'm sorry, I really did try.

Thank you guys for reading.

I'll also be updating some of my other stories sometime soon.

Thank you again for waiting.

I love you My Plushies.