Now or Never:

"C'mon Max, now or never," Fang jibed. Max looked at him in disbelief. He's got to be kidding, Max thought. Who are you and what have you done to the real Fang?

She shook her head defiantly, crossing her arms over her chest. "You freak!" Max exclaimed.

Fang smiled, making Max's heart pound even harder in her chest. "I know what effect I have on you," he crooned, out of character. "Your heart's pulse quickens, your hands get sweaty–" he paused for a moment, "– and your face gets all heated up," Fang finished, smirking at the blush forming on Max's face.

Max shook her head again, trying her best to play it off cool, although Fang, in fact, was completely accurate in all three things. It wasn't right, especially considering the relationship Max and Fang shared. "You're my best friend!" she said, trying to make Fang think logically. "We can't! And I won't!"

"Doesn't mean you don't want to," Fang retorted smugly. He leaned down closer to Max's face. "Just lean in," he whispered softly. "All you have to do."

Cursing herself and Fang inwardly, Max quickly stepped back out of his reach. "Nuh-uh," she said firmly, her voice breaking at the end.

Fang groaned. "Why must you be so stubborn?" he wondered, running his hand through his black hair.

"Why must you be so persistent?" Max shot back smiling. An idea sparked in her head. She gasped in delight. "Perhaps... you love me?" she asked innocently. Max looked at Fang's pink-tinted face. "Oh! You do, don't you? Fang Walker loves Maximum Ride!" she sung out loud, throwing her hands up in the air.

I hate her so much, but I love her even more, Fang grumbled to himself. "Tell it to the world, why dont'cha?" he asked mockingly.

Max nodded eagerly. "FANG WALKER LOVES MAXIMUM RIDE," she yelled, so the whole Earth could hear. At a normal tone, to Fang, she smiled. "I know what effect I have on you!" she teased. "Your throat gets raspy, your stomach drops, you feels as if you can't breathe," Max cried, now on a roll. "You're absolutely, indefinitely in love with me, and won't admit it, huh?"

Stepping forward, so she was closer to Fang, she mocked, "Just lean in. You know you want to. You know there's a hell-load of risks. You know that this might ruin anything," she breathed, her heart going wild due to their close proximities.

Sure, she was being a dare-devil. Sure, she may be making a fool out of herself. But there had been too much tension between them during the past months, too much worrying – she just let it all go, and went with what her heart wanted.

"It's now. Or. Never," she murmured quietly.

Fang hesitated a moment too long, and Max's facade dropped. She stepped back solemnly, apologizing to Fang with her eyes. Max didn't dare say anything.

Shaking his head, he snapped out of staring at Max. She had already turned around, and started walking away, thinking he obviously didn't feel the same way she did.

"Wait! Max!" he called, running towards Max.

She turned around, and he pressed her lips to his gently. When they pulled away from each other, Max simply looked at him with her eyebrows raised, and a smile playing on her lips. "Mm?" she asked.

Fang smiled. "I choose now."