Hey, this is important. This is a trigger warning if you've experienced harm from guardians or self- harm. Please know that you are loved and please skip this chapter. It's not graphic, though it's mentioned.

-Previously-

I smiled to myself, what was he? A kid? If he was, then goddamn I want to go back to kindergarten.

We were walking next to the pond when I decided to just hover over the side and look at the fish swimming around. Next thing I knew...I was soaking wet with a bitchy sounding voice behind me saying, "Oopsies, my hand slipped."

Fucking Lissa.

Chapter 11- Keeping Secrets

Max's POV

"Wha-.." I tried to speak, but honestly I couldn't believe what she just did. I stood up, slowly at that, and looked at her pitiful self. Excuse her, I was having a moment here and she comes breaking it up. I smiled. Yes, you read right. I smiled, widely. "Cute hair." I said, batting my eyes right before I pulled that girl's rust colored hair harder and farther down than her intelligence. I looked to Fang, who was standing there in shock of what happened and had looked down and immediately started taking off his jacket. I looked down and...yeah you bet I put his jacket on.

"Are you alright?" He asked as we were walking back to the hotel, leaving Lissa to her one "friend", throwing a tantrum about her beauty being ruined. Like she had it in the first place.

"Yeah, I'm good, thanks." I looked up at him. His jacket engulfed me in warmth, like damn. Is he a generator of heat or something? He looked at me as he reached and pulled a leaf out of my hair, tossing it aside. Proceeding to smile, he patted down my hair that was dripping with water.

"Think this is funny, don't you?" I asked, raising an eyebrow. He nodded and walked a little more ahead of me to open the door. He walked with me to my room and sat on the bed as I gathered another set of clothes for myself. I walked into the bathroom to change and I heard him starting to speak.

"I've noticed this for awhile, but you get into quite a few fights."

Huh, and he just now brings this up? So late.

"Mhm, get it from my mother." I replied. "My mom used to be a real struggle for her classmates and staff at school. Apparently I inherited her attitude towards people. The stories that she'd tell me." I sighed. I kind of miss not being around her all the time. Making me cookies and spending time with me. I'll call her some time after I get back, perhaps.

I opened the door to see Fang laying back on my bed with his arms over his head and his legs out. I laid beside him, touching my foot to his, laying my hands on my stomach. "You're very dark and mysterious, which parent do you get that from?" I questioned, earnestly interested to learn something about Fang for once.

He turned his head to look away from me.

"I wouldn't know..." He trailed, " My mother isn't alive anymore and I didn't really get the chance to know her very well." He spoke very softly and I looked to him once again to see his eyes are closed.

"I'm sure she was a great woman." I whispered.

"I'd like to think so." He responded. "My dad, however, I don't really know him very well. He wasn't around a lot when I was growing up, but he..I remember him very well."

His words were coated with ice that you could just tell he was pushing himself to speak about it. " I have an older brother in his 20s that doesn't really come around anymore and he doesn't really like me that much, but I have an eight year old sister named Angel."

"Do you miss them?" I asked, feeling tired. As time goes on, my eyes feel more heavy and as he talked, I just accidentally fell asleep.

"My sister is the only one I miss." Is the last thing I heard.

-Fang's POV-

"My sister is the only one I miss." I said. I looked over to her as her breath slowed and her responses stopped. I slid my hand down her hair and caressed her cheek. All of a sudden, I heard someone walk in and I turned to look to see Max's friend, Nudge. She was smiling really wide..kind of creepy. She shot a thumbs up at me and began to walk out when someone else knocked on the door.

I got up as she opened it to reveal that ass that was harassing Max in the hallway. Dick? Derrick?

D..Dyl- Dylan. That was it. Yeah, that fuckboy. I rushed past Nudge and shoved the prick out of the room into the wall behind him. He looked at me with a stupid smirk on his face as I held him against the wall.

"What the fuck are you doing here?" I hissed. His hands grabbed the collar of my shirt and winked at me.

"You don't need to know. "

"Hey! Break it up you guys!" Nudge was telling us behind me. Then I could hear here footsteps trail off in the distance probably going to go find someone for re-enforcement.

"You don't need to come anywhere near Max again or I'll fucking break you. Got it?" I threatened. Given that I don't know who this kid is, but damn he needs to step off.

"I'd like to see you try." He shot back and then proceeding to headbutt me and punch me in the stomach. I released him putting one hand on my nose and the other into his face. I jammed him fist into his stomach and grabbed his head as he bent over and slammed it into my knee. He knelt over for a second and then rushed at me grabbing me and knocking me into the wall and then, onto the floor we went.

We kept throwing punches at each other and I grabbed the side of his face and smashed it against the wall as he pulled my hair, pushing my face into his loose fist. I could feel the blood trickle into my mouth from my nose and I saw his stream down his forehead as well as the side of his cheekbone. I grabbed him by the collar and rolled him over me onto the floor by kicking his stomach as he went over.

As we were getting ready to keep going, more footsteps hurried along and I heard someone's voice telling us to stop. I felt a hand on my shirt pulling me back and someone rushing by me pushing Dylan to the wall. Sam came into my line of sight, checking to see if I was alright as Iggy kept fuckboy in his corner. He looked at me from over Iggy's shoulder and grinned. He mouthed, "Thanks for the fun."

I threw my middle finger up at him.

"What was that all about?" Sam asked, guiding me to our room a few doors down. I sat down on my bed as he went to get a few things from the bathroom.

"He keeps harassing Max and wouldn't leave her alone. He came to her room looking for her and I pushed him out of the room. He headbutted me." I explained.

Sam came back in with a look that asked me to continue. I shrugged. Putting a wash cloth on my wounds, he asks if there are any other injuries. I suddenly felt a sharp pain in my stomach. "My stomach hurts." I hesitantly removed my shirt...I know he's going to ask. I don't know if I should lie or tell the truth...

As I removed my shirt, he walked to the side dresser behind me, getting a roll of tape and turned around. I heard him stop walking. He must've seen. My hair is in a small ponytail...there's no way he wouldn't have seen. The back of my neck is completely visible. He made his way back in front of me and glanced over me, spotting the inside of my left upper arm. There was silence between us for a minute.

"Did you do this to yourself?" He asked. I shook my head. "Who would do this to you?" I looked up at him, feeling overwhelmed with feelings. Adrenaline still ran through my veins and this wasn't helping me calm down whatsoever.

"...My dad." I replied.

"Who the fuck burns their child with..cigarettes? Is that what it is? Who does that? Is that by him too?" He asked, gesturing to the long scar on my arm. "Are you experiencing this often?"

"Not after I left." I looked down.

"Left?" He questioned. Here it comes...Fucking hell.

"I...Long story short, I came home on my birthday and I happened to come home really late because my friends threw a party for me. I thought he would've went to bed already, but he was waiting there in the house when I got back. I opened the door and..." I sighed. I hate this. Already I could feel myself shaking. Keeping secrets...I'm tired of it.

"My dad..." I continued.

Max's POV

I woke up to Nudge shaking me, speaking really fast. "Fang got into a fight with that one kid! That one who follows you around all the time! That one! It was insane. There was so much blood, like they both had a lot of blood on them! Everywhere! Oh my God, Max! I can't believe it! It was really intense, Fang was like, 'Yo what the fuck you doin' here, bitch' and, and that kid was like, 'You don't needa know buddy!' Oh Max, I didn't know what to do. It was scary. They both were fighting so hardcore."

"Wait, fight? Fang? Is he okay? Where is he?" I started getting up, heading for the door and she pointed to the door right down the hall. I rushed down to the door, passing Iggy who was heading towards Nudge and I's room. Not bothering to knock and walked in on Fang standing up, adjusting his shirt and hair. I went up to him, running my hand over his forehead. He had bruises on his chin, forehead, cheek and collarbone. There was a bandage on his jawline that had a small patch of red under it.

"Are you okay?! What happened?" I asked him. He put his hands over mine and Sam walked out of the room, patting him on the back.

"Nothing special. Why didn't you tell me about Dylan?" He questioned,

"Obviously something special and I didn't think it was important. Though if it got worse, I was going to tell you." I said, grabbing his hands in mine. "I mean, he was stalking me for awhile, leaving notes and creepy ass flowers everywhere, but I didn't think it was to the point of danger."

"He wants you. By the tone of his notes, Max, that kid really has a thing for you. Infatuation it seems. Why didn't you tell him you were taken?" He looked down, his hair falling in all sorts of directions.

"...I wasn't sure if we were anything. I tried to ask you." I replied. He leaned down, looking me in the eye.

"Now you do. You're my girlfriend." He softly puts his lips on mine and I felt his hand move to my lower back, pushing me closer to him. Fang's lips moved against mine a little more harder, his hands slowly running up my sides to my chin and the pressure from his lips left mine to be felt on my forehead. I pulled him into an embrace, feeling his heartbeat and him laying his head on top of mine. I could feel him pick me up and lay me down on the bed behind us. He put his arms around me, putting his forehead on my stomach. All I could do is run my hands softly through his hair and be here until he felt better.

AUTHOR'S NOTE

Shit. So much has happened since the last update.
I left my school...It was too much for me to handle, I just couldn't. I needed to leave. I go to a regular highschool now and honestly, it was the best goddamn decision I've ever made. Like...It's going from a school that was so bullshit to something much better. I've actually made my first hundred on more than 3 things this school year for the first time in two years...
I just. It's been a struggle, you guys..It really has been.

And I know I'm hella unreliable when it comes to regularly updating and I'm so sorry.

It's just been an emotional rollarcoaster lately.

Since the last update:
-I've been having friends who are having some dark times and a manipulative asshole who makes it worse for them.

-I've left a stressful stiuation

-I've tried helping a friend but ended up losing some friends because I tried to help.

-I have a boyfriend, going on 5 months next week cx

-I don't have many people I talk to anymore and it's kind of hard, but that's okay. I'm getting better.

-I've turned 17

-I'm a goooooddddaaammmnnnn junior like fucking hell where has the time gone. I started writing fanfiction when I was in 7th grade. I just- like wow, you know?

I keep forgetting that Fanfiction helps me create a world of my own that makes me feel better about things...I hate not writing for a long time, but I just..I lost that feeling and when I get it back, it's been a fuck ton of a time since the last time I've updated.

Tell me what you think about this chapter, please. Did I accidentally change the writing style?
Was it too slow?
Was it bad?

I may or may not update again soon. I'm not going to be definite, that makes me feel like I'm caged. I'll update again sometime.
I'm in the mood for it right now, and I actually have the time for once to do what I want. So who knows.

Can't make any promises, but please know that I'm trying so hard to do things and it's finally coming together, so maybe updates will happen without such a huge gap of time between said updates.

Thank you so much and I hope you'll stay with me

Catch you on the flipside

Kyra~