Max POV:

This day SUCKED. Majorly. And it's not even noon yet. The odd part is I don't even really know why. It's hard to pinpoint. I just feel tense and edgy. Energized to the point where I think I'm going to explode, which would be bad since I'm sitting on our new couch in our new living room in our new house. The flock and I had decided to finally settle after Itex's crumbling fall, and here we are. A whole house all to ourselves out in the middle of bloody nowhere. But here I was ready to spoil out poor sofa and carpet with an explosion of Max-brains. I needed to burn off steam. I needed something. I just don't quite know what.

Seeing as it's spring, the weather is lovely, and there is nobody around for miles I rocketed off the couch, through the front door and launched into the sky. Pouring on some super speed I easily reached 340 miles an hour. Over time I had gradually been able to go faster and faster, and let's just say that my power is the coolest ever. Don't think that around Angel. But the increase in speed had really happened recently, around when I turned seventeen. But who knew when I actually had my birthday seeing as I picked it out for myself.

Flying is such a rush! Wings beating, feathers ruffling through thin air currents. Usually it makes me forget, at least momentarily, all of my troubles. Not today. Because today sucks. Today, I name thee "Really Sucky Day". Commemorating the atrociousness of feeling that something is off and that I need something.

I can hear the birds singing and slow to watch them. A frenzy of nesting and calling out to each other is taking place just below me. A large black bird is making a menace of himself by attacking a pair of sparrows. The forest is rampant with such scenes. The other animals are out and about recovering after winter. Squirrels rejoice in the fresh sunshine and replenish their dwindling supplies. A mother bear lumbers out of her den with two cubs tentatively following her.

I still feel like I itch inside my skin. I don't know what I want, but I want something. I can't really dfine or explain it quite. But I'm anxious. And the logical part of Max is screaming that somethings not right. Maybe I'll ask Fang to check my neck to make sure I don't have and expiration date yet. Who knows?

So as I'm still on edge I fly back to the house.

Fang POV:

I woke up late. I never wake up late. Something is wrong. I suppose I can't complain as last night's dreams were pretty incredible. Max… I halted my mind before it wandered too far away from me. I shifted uncomfortably. I felt restless.

Looking at my clock I realize that it's almost ten in the morning. Jeez. So I get ready for the day. Clothes on. Check. Hair somewhat managed. Check. Ready to roll.

I head out of my room feeling a charge fo adrenaline. Quickly I look around, the hairs on the back of my neck stand on end. But there's nothing there.

Snarling I shout "SHOW YOURSELF!"

Ready to leap at the threat my body thrums with tension like a coiled cobra ready to strike. A second passes. Nothing happens. I hear Nudge's call barely from outside, "What's going on Fang? Is something wrong?"

I glance around again, but nothing is out of the ordinary. Nothing is wrong. But it feels wrong. I don't know. So I call to tell her nothing's wrong and continue walking down the hallway. My hallway. The house is mine, right? I AM co-leader of the Flock. Sure Max is the leader, and I'm fine with that. She's amazing at it. Well, overall she's amazing at everything. I tend not to talk much to avoid spouting silly things about her. Like how her hair shimmers in the sun, and how her wings ruffle in a really cute way when I annoy her. Just thinking of Max right now has put me in a predicament. I put my hand in my pocket and think about ugly people. Ugly Erasers. Old Ugly Erasers. Old Ugly Erasers doing Iggy. Ewwwww. Mission accomplished and the tent of my pants is unpitched.

I feel oddly possessive at the moment. And preoccupied. This house is mine. This floor is mine. That wall is mine. You don't touch my wall. The lawn is mine. The woods are mine. My room is mine. Max is mine. Well that last one isn't quite correct. The history between Max and myself has been codl turkey for awhile. But now I have the urge, no drive, to fix that. Max will be mine as I am hers. Mine. Did I mention this house is mine?

I bristled again as the hairs on the back of my neck rose. A snarl nearly pulls its way out of my throat. I freeze and am poised to attack. The threat is near. It's in MY house, MY space, MY territory. I bolt through the kitchen door towards the invader… only to stop. I see Iggy in the same crouched position ready to attack.

Now I'm confused. My danger radar must be WAAAY off if it's picking up Iggy as a threat. But I still can't make my body quite relax. All I can do is grind out a not so pleasant greeting, "Iggy."

His blind eyes narrow, icily he asks, "What are you doing in MY kitchen Fang?" My name is spat out by his tongue like a diseased word.

I can't help it, the words bubble out of my mouth just as coldly, "What are YOU doing in MY house Iggy?"

"YOUR house?! YOU actually think that this is YOUR house? Are you mad?! This is, quite obviously, MY house. My kitchen. My place. Without a doubt, MINE." Iggy's glare intensifies.

I want to hit him. I've never wanted to really hit him before, but now I'm almost shocked by the rage I feel. The over bearing desire not just to hit him, but to beat the living shit out of him. Leave him crawling below me on the ground like a worm. To show him who really is in charge. Alpha male ego? You bet. My skin crawls at his presence. Logically I know there's no reason we should be fighting at all. No reason to break his bones. But that little bit of sanity is drowned out by a sea of red. I'm seeing red. He has challenged me in my domain. My kingdom. Idiot thinks he owns the place. I really should knock his brains out for his stupidity. My skin crawls jus with his presence and I want nothing more at this moment than for him to be long gone; far, far away.

The thought of an impending fight is stopped when Nudge barges into the room. My skin boils. I've never felt this way about Nudge. I look at her and can see the same thoughts floating through Iggy's mind. I want Nudge. In a way that was formerly only reserved by the one and only Maximum Ride. But I can feel myself get turned on. Jeez, this is so wrong. I'm that far gone that I don't realize that. This is wrong. And with that thought I realize that the same wrongness that concerns me being attracted to Nudge is going on with Iggy. I shouldn't hate him. My brain is starting to kick start again. But along with that revelation my body is still not reacting to my thoughts. Nudge is still talking and has no idea of the dilemma she has just posed for me and Iggy. Nudge is a sister to me. And I'm not the incestuous type. With Max its different. It just always seemed to me that Max was the one for me. We would be together. There would always be an "us". But now here's Nudge. And my body. And I'm not sure if I like where this is headed. Speaking of Max I heard the front door open and she charged through the house to her bedroom. Completely, obliviously, missing the drama that was unfolding here.

"Iggy. We. Need. To. Talk. … Privately." I manage to grind out in a slightly less "I'ma gonna keel joo!" sort of voice.

"Sure."

It looks like Iggy is also trying to be diplomatic under the circumstances. Nudge leaves with a weird look on her face, luckily never really noticing our *ahem* discomfort. "Iggy, there is something really wrong here. I don't know what. So until we figure this out I think neither of us should act on our, um, impulses. I also think we shouldn't be in each other's space. I think we need to split the house. Kitchen and front half yours, hallway to the back mine. Just so we each know who owns what and there's no argument. Deal?" Longest speech ever given by Fang. That's what I'll call this conversation later.

"… Deal. Get out of my Kitchen."

I stepped out, still a part of me was raging about giving up space to Iggy. From the hallway I said, "Ig, don't do something you'll regret later. So resist that urge I know you just felt."

Iggy stared dumbly at me, "How did you…"

"Know? Easy, I felt it too. Something is wrong." I just didn't know what yet. And seeing as I could no longer tolerate Iggy's presence for the same odd reason I left. I was deep in thought so I was slightly shocked to find myself outside of Max's door. I was inexplicably pulled to her room. The door was open a crack and I couldn't resist. I peeked in.

The was Max, bustling about around her bed. Just seeing her sent any thoughts of Nudge flying out the window. My blood pounded and I seriously needed to fix my problem down there before Max saw it and killed me for my perverted ways. But it seemed I was lucky, she was busy twisting and pulling off the blankets and pillows. I watched her working and my mind drifted off to fantasies. I could not stop ogling. He ass was perky, round, succulent, the jean she wore were tight. As a matter of fact my jeans were feeling awfully tight too. Her breasts pushed against the fabric of her tank top as if to escape the confine s of the fabric. I sent them a secret prayer hoping that they succeeded in freeing themselves right now. In front of me. Her wings twitched. Finally after all the energy she put into it she stepped back. Looking… proud? The bed was a mess. A nest of blankets and pillows was formed in the center. She sighed, and mumbled to herself, "I don't know why I just did that."

Than it hit me like a ton of bricks. An epiphany. It all made sense. The animosity between Iggy and myself, our possessiveness, our territorial behavior, our reaction to Nudge, and now Max's nest. We were avian Americans, and it was spring. We were in some kind of heat.