A warning to all readers! I'm not really known for updating my work, or spell checking it if I am tired. But don't worry, it should be fine! Oh, and I write really different stories to other FF writers, so prepare yourselves for…weirdness. I have a kind of different sense of humour, so I hope this is a breath of fresh air =)) Please review! That way I know if it's any good or not. Thanks!

MAX:

Not the pet store, not the pet store, not the pet store…

Fuck.

I couldn't tear my eyes away as, as if in slow motion, my priceless black Pontiac Firebird sixty-nine crashed through the seemingly invisible walls of the local pet store.

Oh yeah, did I mention fuck?

The totaled car rolled to a rather ungraceful stop as horrified parents stared at us through the windscreen of the car. I cringed at the howling of animals as I realized that we had crashed into the dogs" section of the store. Red was slashed across the shattered glass and previously clean marble floor. As if this were some kind of movie, my door creaked open without my touching it, the metal screeching as it echoed through the silence of the stunned crowd. Children looked pale as the colour drained from their faces, the sight of dead animals probably haunting their dreams for the next seven years. My head turned toward Iggy who sat beside me, his white hands clenched around the steering wheel in sheer terror. Or maybe it was just shock that had him so frozen. I didn't know. Didn't really care either, not after what he had done.

I took a deep breath, stepping out of the care and trying to keep myself composed. My stiletto heels crunched as they crushed the glass beneath my feet. I looked around the store, dismissing the angry and sickened faces that were looking my way. Surveying the animals, some lying bleeding across the floor, others limping as far away from my totaled car as they could, I brought my attention to Iggy (who was now out of the car as well) and the scratched, bent and destroyed state of my ride.

Violence is not the answer, violence is not the answer, violence is not—

Oh fuck that.

"Iggy you totally destroyed my car!" I near screamed. "Do you know how much this is going to cost me to fix?" I kicked the wheel out of frustration (cough, anger, cough).

"It's not my fault," Iggy protested, crossing his arms across his chest.

"Oh this is so your fault! What, did the shop just magically appear in front of you?"

"Hey, you were the "designated driver." I blame you."

"Oh I am going to cut you open and eat your intestines! All fifty meters of it!"

"Actually, the intestines aren't fifty meters long, they're—"

Before he could finish his stupid smart-ass sentence, someone else's voice blared over his.

"Step away from the car immediately!"

Sighing, I did as the policeman said, dragging my hand down my face in annoyance. I watched out of the corner of my eyes as Iggy did the same. God, we were so screwed.

"What happened here?" The officer asked, his voice somewhat more composed.

"An accident sir," I replied, trying somewhat to sound formal. Though I was sure my outfit really didn't help my situation—somehow I didn't think stiletto boots and halter-neck top without a back screamed "mature" or 'sophisticated."

"Really? And you just happened to crash into the pet store? Do you realize the mess you've caused here?" His eyes moved toward Iggy, who was staring back at him squarely. Oh please, don't do anything stupid, I thought. Iggy was known for…well, for things that would get him arrested if anyone found out about them.

"Sorry officer, my sister has been teaching me to drive. I guess she's not a very good teacher." Not a good teacher? He totaled my firebird!

"Can I see your license please Miss?"

"Sure," I grumbled, fishing through my bag for my wallet. I was so screwed. What was I going to do now about a ride? There was no way I could get my car fixed! And my insurance wouldn't cover this much damage.

The officer snatched my card from me, grunting as he looked over it. "Maximum Ride? Is this some kind of joke?" The policeman looked me over, scanning my body. It was a few minutes before he shook his head. "There's no way this is real. Maximum Ride? You don't even look—"

"Actually, it's Max. And yes, it's real. I'm seventeen sir, would you like my I.D?"

The officer frowned but shook his head. "What about you, other one. Got a card?"

"Yes sir," Iggy replied, flinging his brown hair out of his eyes. He literally tossed the piece of laminated paper to the policeman, who now had a squad of four other officers joining him.

"Iggy? Your name is Iggy Ride?" He tossed glances from me to Iggy, shaking his head.

"That's the name. Don't blame me, I didn't get the choice. But is everything good here?" The officer threw him an "are you serious?" look his way and told us to wait where we were before walking away. I saw the RSPCA and pet store staff tending to the animals. Forget the animals, what about my car!

"Iggy, we are so dead!" I whispered furiously to him.

"I know. I don't think Jeb's going to be happy…"

"Yeah, he's going to be just peachy," I growled. What a tool. I knew just how happy Jeb would be once he found out he would have to foot the bill for us destroying a store. I mean, it was bad enough after Iggy set the Forman's house on fire with an explosive made of C4, but this? Living beings died! Sure they were smelling, hairy dogs, but they were alive, right?

Had it have been the birds, I think I might have vomited.

And my car!

"Alright, you, Iggy, got parents? Legal guardians?"

I visibly saw Iggy gulp. "Yeah."

"Got a phone?"

Pause. "Yeah?"

Another pause. "Don't you think it would be prudent to call them then?"

"Well actually—"

"I can drive him home Officer. I'm his older sister," I cut in. I could literally see another repeat of the Forman's yard happening in the pet store. God, and they thought I was the violent one. "If he gets anywhere near the wheel again I will literally cut off his hands so he has nothing to drive with. His feet wouldn't go amiss either actually. Hmm…I could just keep chopping, bits of him off, until he couldn't do anything ever again—"

Huh, okay, maybe I am the violent one.

"Okay, I get it, but either way call the parents. Now."

Don't tell him to fuck off… "Sure," I said, plastering a smile to my face as I dug through my bag. Okay, prepare for sudden death…

Jeb picked up the phone after the second ring, his cheery voice slicing through the silence.

"Hey, what's up?"

Okay, here goes. Break it to him in small fractions. Don't just blame Iggy. That will make you seem guilty. Slowly, slowly, slowly…

"I was teaching Iggy to drive like you said and he tried to do a stupid U-turn in the middle of the street, almost hit a seven seat mini bus before swerving into a pet store. He smashed all the glass walls on the west side of the building and there's glass everywhere and I had absolutely nothing to do with it!" I took a deep breath, trying to catch it. Okay, so that was an epic fail. I saw Iggy scowl, the frames of his sunglasses sliding down his nose fractionally. I shrugged, closing my eyes as I readied for the explosion…

"He didn't blow anything up did he?" Jeb asked after a moment of silence and deep breathing.

"Uh, no."

"Is anything or anyone hurt?"

"I think I see a dog lying on the floor with a crooked leg. It looks like it's unconscious…oh, no, it's dead. Never mind. Well…there's one who looks blind—oh, one of his eyes are gone. Poor thing. Ah…oh there's one with a missing tail. That one's hurt I think—"

"Max! What did you do?"

"I didn't do anything. Iggy was the one that was driving!"

"You were the designated driver! You should have told him not to do a U-turn in the middle of an intersection!"

"I was reading my book, I didn't see him do the stupid turn until we were through the windows of the store."

"You were reading a BOOK!"

I cringed, holding the phone at a length from me. "I was at the part where the girl was getting saved by the baddie-turned-kinda-good. I couldn't just not read it!"

"Just get home. Now. We'll talk about it then."

"Uh, problem. My car has been totaled."

"Then catch the bus!" There was an audible snap before the line went dead. I gaped, my eyes wide.

"He hung up on me!"

"Huh. Give me the number and I'll call him later. You two get out of my sight." The officer wrote down Jeb's number before stalking off.

"Wait, what about my car!"

"Pah, what about it? Got the twenty or so grand to fix it? More than that actually, seeing as though it's ancient and vintage. You've trashed the ride kid."

I gaped. "I'm going to rip off your—" Iggy's hand clamped over my mouth.

"Idiot, don't get us arrested for assaulting the police as well!" I fought the urge to scream. I wish Iggy was blind sometimes, so that he wouldn't know where I was to stop me from doing stupid things. Not like he could talk, he was the one who blew up the comic book store because they didn't have the right issue of Spiderman out. Psycho.

When Iggy finally dropped his hand the policeman was gone, leaving us to bus it back home. I took a deep breath. I didn't think screaming and stamping my foot right then would make my situation much better.

"Jeb said to catch the bus back."

"Yeah, I gathered that. I'm not deaf."

"Whatever," I sneered, shoving the car door aside to grab my stuff out of the car. I sighed. It would take forever to get my car back. I was sure Jeb wasn't going to foot that bill, and my shifts at The Grand weren't really going to pay for twenty K's worth of damage any time soon. Don't throw anything, don't throw anything, don't throw anything—

"Hey Max, what the Hell are these for?" My head snapped toward Iggy, who had in his hand a pair of shining silver handcuffs. I was sure my face had drained of colour as I snatched the steel cuffs from his grip.

"None of your business," I answered bitchily, shoving them into my bag. God, what else did I have in here? Iggy rolled his eyes in exasperation, mouthing the word "right" slowly. "Fuck you," I said, my brows pulled toward my eyes.

"Language," Iggy imitated in his best posh British accent.

I rolled my eyes and shut the glove box with a snap. "Got any change?" I asked, eyeing Iggy with a look of annoyance.

"Sure do," he said, smiling.

"Good, "cause I got none."

Iggy checked his watch, the large square face so distinctive that you'd think he was blind the numbers were so big. "Bus comes in a few. C'mon, we'll miss it if we don't go. I don't particularly want to wait another hour for the next one."

'then you shouldn't have crashed my car," I grumbled, trudging through red stained fluids. God, you'd think someone could clean up this mess. Tossing one last wistful glance over my shoulder, I sighed. Looks like I would have to use Jeb's hunk of shit for the next few years. Bah, and it was a Holden. What a piece of crap they are. Not to mention it freaking ate fuel like Jeb devoured Iggy's food. Which reminded me… I gasped, coming to a stop. Spinning on heels, I ran back to my car, diving into the back seat and snatching the silver foiled item that I had shoved into the back as I'd left home. How could I forget the brownie? Iggy made the best brownies. As I shoved the whole thing into my mouth at the same time, I saw Iggy having a spaz at a bald man in front of him. I froze, my mouth gaping. The door behind Iggy snapped shut and the vehicle began moving, Iggy's face watching me helplessly as it the bus disappeared from view.

Fuck.

Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck!

I don't think I'd sworn this much in my entire life. I took out my phone, punched in Iggy's number and waited for the dick to answer his phone. One ring, two rings, three rings… After eight rings I hung up. As usual he was avoiding my call. Oh my God, this can't possibly get any worse…

And what do you know, it starts freaking raining.

Why? Why is that when you think things can't get worse, it begins to rain? An electrifying bolt streaked through the sky followed by an ear-piercing screech that rang through the air. Okay, my limited control broke. I screamed.

And screamed and screamed and screamed.

I trudged out of the store, which was now taped with yellow "do not cross" tape. It had long since been abandoned. And, like a bad horror movie, no-one was around as thunderous clouds marked the sky. What the Hell happened to the sunshine? That's it, God hates me. Probably because I helped Iggy blow up the church…yeah, that might explain it. (What? They were trying to convert us or something. They wanted me to give up alcohol and sex outside of marriage. What the Hell, who would agree to that?")

I walked along the muddy pathway, cursing myself for wearing heels. And nice ones too. When I got home, Iggy was going to freaking wash them until they looked out of the box new. And if he refused, then there was a fist in his face waiting for him. Little turd, so what if he was taller than me, I'd slice "dick" across his forehead so that everyone could see his—

Lost deep in vengeful thought and being drenched in rain, I didn't see the massive pothole right in front of me until after I landed butt first in it. Filled with muddy water and other dirt, I slid into it, my pants becoming soaked with muddy water and my emerald top splattered with dirt. I was sure I began hyperventilating I was so pissed at this point. Knowing my luck today, if I got up again I'd trip on a crack, break my leg and have to be carted to a freaking hospital in an ambulance. So I continued to sit in the mud, my blonde hair becoming more drenched in the torrential rain. Why? Why am I having such a shit day? I balled my fist and banged my head with it, continually hitting myself. So not cool. How can one person have such a crappy—

"Fuck!" I yelled as I pulled the novel I had in my bag out. It was soaked to the point where the ink was literally smudged and the pages were tearing of their own accord. "No! No, no, no, no, no, no, no! I was up to the part where they were kissing…!" I whined, throwing a nearby rock at nothing. The rain was so torrential that I couldn't see where it landed.

I had covered my face with my hands when I heard the very distinctive "clank" as the rock I had thrown connected with something. I looked up in time to see blaring headlights blind my vision. The roaring of the rain spraying the ground had blocked the engines of all the vehicles on the road, so I hadn't realized that I'd thrown the stone right into the middle of the road as a vehicle was passing. I also realized as I squinted through the downpour that I had in fact thrown the stone straight, it just happened to be that the road veered to the left further up ahead where the rock had landed. Oh shit, not another bill…

The screeching of tyres just in front of me drew my attention to the vehicle that had stopped. I swallowed, really not wanting to have to pay for something else today. What was the time anyway? Like, four? And it was literally black outside. At four in the afternoon! I groaned, pulling myself out of the puddle of mud that was steadily growing around me. Great, I was soaked in mud now. Sighing, I stood in the rain, hoping it would rid me of the dir, as the figure got off the two wheeled bike that was in front of me. Okay, who rode a bike torrential rain? What a freaking moron. I squinted as a shape bounced up and down on his palm. The stone. So I had definitely hit a vehicle. I fought the urge to grunt.

"Sorry," I practically yelled through the rain. "I didn't mean to hit you."

The rock dropped from the figure's hand. "Right, I'm sure you didn't. What are you doing out here anyway?" I realized that the figure was a guy, his voice all too masculine to be anything but. That and the fact that he was well over six foot tall, and far too broad, to be feminine gave it away.

"Thought I'd take a stroll in the sunshine," I replied sarcastically.

The guy, whose features were shadowed by the rain, paused for a moment before he replied. "Need a ride?"

"On that," I asked, peering through the rain at the dark monstrosity that was his "ride." "Are you kidding me? And I don't take rides from strangers."

I thought I saw him shrug. Either that or it was just the rain. "Whatever, suit yourself." He turned back to his bike, swinging one leg over it and straddling the seat. "Oh, and if you ever hit my bike again," he said, yelling now himself, "you won't leave my presence unscathed." After revving his bike, the man was gone, leaving a stunned me in his wake.

What the Hell?

If it had been any other person, any other person, I would have laughed. Except this guy…he was freaky.

And whoever he was, I really wanted to see him again.