Meant to Be – Chapter 12

By MyNameIsCAL

It's been a long time, I know. Guess this doesn't really go along with Angel now, but I shall press on. Got plans for this story anyway. Sorry for not updating this one for a while.

I sat in the kitchen watching Iggy cook. Everyone else was still asleep. My cell phone sat on the table, and it suddenly buzzed, making me jump.

There was a text from Dylan:

Hey Max! Look, I haven't seen you in a while. I was wondering if you wanted to have lunch or something, just so we could catch up, if you'd like.

It had been about maybe a month now since I had even spoken to Dylan. I stared at the text for a minute.

"Who's that?" Iggy questioned.

"Dylan."

"What's he want?"

"To see me."

Iggy shook his head. "I don't think that's a good idea, Max."

I let out a sigh.

"Look." Iggy sat down next to me, lowering his voice. "Fang is just, you know, warming to all of this again. Maybe you should wait a little longer."

"Yeah, you're probably right," I muttered, punching out a response to Dylan, hoping he wouldn't pester me anymore.

Iggy went back to cooking. I left my phone, going to the window and staring out. It was sort of cloudy today.

"Hey."

Fang snuck up behind me, and if I wasn't so used to it, I might have elbowed him in self defense. He drew his arms around me, and I closed my eyes, feeling his chin resting on my shoulder.

"Fang…" I was resisting the urge to smile.

"What're you smiling about?" He chuckled, kissing my neck. "I was thinking we could go out somewhere tonight, just you and me."

"That sounds great," I said.

He smiled into my neck and I slipped my hand into his as we headed back to the kitchen.

Gazzy came into the kitchen a few minutes later, rubbing his jaw. I didn't think it actually hurt anymore, but it had just become a habit of his every since Dylan had hit him. Fang gave nothing away as he noticed, but I knew it still bothered him.

"Hey, Max, if you have a chance when you go out tonight, could you pick up more marshmallows?" Gazzy sounded anxious.

"We'll get you some, don't worry," I promised.

"Thanks."

Fang had his arm around me as we made our way down the street. We had just gotten out of the movie theater and now heading to get Gazzy some marshmallows. Earlier, we had found ourselves a place to eat dinner and took a walk on the beach. He gave me one of his crooked smiles when I glanced at him, squeezing my arm.

"We should take the whole flock down to the beach one day," he said, taking a deep breath. "When's the last time you've been to the beach?"

I shrugged. "It's been a while."

We found ourselves in a grocery store and bought a couple bags of marshmallows. It was when we were in line that we crossed paths with Dylan.

"Hello, Dylan," I said.

He gave me a wide grin. "It's good to see you, Max. How've you been?"

"Good," I replied.

Dylan gave me a hug, and I squeezed him back. Fang watched carefully, eyes fixed on Dylan, but his expression giving nothing away.

"And how have you been, Fang?" Dylan stuck his hand out, receiving a stiff shake from Fang.

"I've been alright," Fang muttered.

"Well, Max, next weekend, or whenever really, we should do something, you know? Talk and catch up." Dylan had turned his attention back to me. "Anyway, I'll see you around, okay?"

"Yeah, sure, Dylan." I waved goodbye to him and he disappeared down one of the aisles.

Fang scowled. "I feel like he's been stalking us all of a sudden."

"Don't be ridiculous, Fang," I said, taking his hand. "C'mon, it's our turn to pay."

When we reached a place with less people, Fang and I took off into the sky. It didn't take long for us to reach the house. I put the marshmallows in the kitchen. Fang had already disappeared down the hall to his room, saying that he was going to change for bed. One moment here, the next moment gone. I let out a sigh, heading to my room, changing into pajamas.

Sitting on my bed, I flipped my phone open. Dylan had left me a few messages, asking me how my night had been. I contemplated answering, but as I received another from him, I turned off my phone and left it on my nightstand, pulling the blankets over me. Part of me was starting to think Fang was upset about our encounter with Dylan, and I cursed at him for ruining what had started as a seemingly perfect night.

"Max…"

I spun around, blankets tangled in my legs as I reached out and threw out a punch, my fist connecting with someone's face. As I rolled off the bed, I found myself on top of them.

"Well, it's nice to know you can still pack a good punch, Max."

I finally recognized the voice. "Oh, jeez, Fang, I'm so sorry."

Still, he brushed the hair out of my face. I could see the outline of his growing smile in the dark. His fingers brushed up against the tips of my feathers.

I touched his face and he winced.

"Let's get you some ice for that," I insisted.

We untangled ourselves.

"Stay here," I helped him onto the bed.

When I came back, he had turned the lamp on. His eye was already swollen, and I pressed the icepack to the side of his face. He flinched.

"I should know better than to sneak up on you like that," Fang grinned as he rested his hand over mine. "I really just wanted to come say goodnight. I'm sorry, Max."

I shook my head. "I punched you. It's my fault."

He closed his eyes, still looking amused. "Never mind now, Max. Turn off the light. Let's get some sleep."

I let him have the icepack, reaching over and turning the lamp off. After I fixed the blankets, I snuggled myself against Fang, his arm around me.

"Goodnight, Max." He kissed my forehead.

"Night, Fang."

I'm putting this at the end of the chapters I update over the next few days just as a statement now that I've finished reading the newest Max Ride book, Angel.

My honest opinion is that it was good. It lived up to my realistic expectations, although I find myself a little frustrated because it's not exactly what I wanted. But there's still one more book, you must remember when you're reading it. The ending needs to be good, or we'll be left with a feeling that all this was wasted.

Just a suggestion, don't go into reading Angel with a hatred for any of the characters. Take a deep breath and let them speak for themselves, and you'll realize that things may be complicated, but Patterson is definitely setting up an ending that could be good (as I'm hoping), or it could be a disaster, but let's not ponder that because no matter what happens, I'll still be sitting here writing fanfics until people stop reading and reviewing them.

My inbox is opened for opinions once you've read Angel. I'd like to know how you felt about it.

And thanks for reading, as always. I'll be sure to update soon

}MyNameIsCAL{