FAXIMUM RIDE: ACCIDENTALLY IN LOVE

(A/N ok, this is the first chappie. and it sux. max and fang are way ooc, but i am not fixing it until i have 3 chapers already written, and saved waiting to be posted. i know that personally i would rather have a new chapter then a fixed old chapter when i have already read that chapter. obvously it isnt too bad if i am still reading right?so i will fix the ooc'ness soon enough ok? please read AND review for my sotry ok? flames are welcome as long as that is your opinion. thank you!

Favorite Basketball Shorts

Max's pov

So now we are in New Mexico, and after Antarctica, there was a small problem adjusting to the heat. But it was so worth it; now we get to wear shorts and tank tops every day.

Ok, I skipped some important details. I spoke to congress about global warming, and then went to the grand opening of Lerner school for gifted children - which the Flock had to leave. Why? You may ask. Well to be honest, my voice told me to. Yes, I, Maximum Ride, have a voice in my head and yes, I listen to it. When I don't listen, bad things happen to either me or my family. So back to the point, after rushing out before my speech to congratulate Lerner's School, my voice told me to go to New Mexico.

Here we are in the largest New Mexican state park getting ready to go to sleep. We (Nudge, Fang, Iggy, Gazzy or The Gasman, don't ask why, Angel and I) are all still hungry.

Dumpster diving is kind of a normal thing when you're on the run like we are. The Flock is running from mad scientists called Whitecoats, who want to experiment on us to see how much pain we can handle or how long we can go without eating. Or sometimes just to see how many erasers it takes to bring us down. But so far in worst case scenario if you're Iggy, try to 'improve your night vision' through surgery and end up making you permanently blind. Yes Iggy is blind. So we are running from them for obvious reasons.

So after flying here - we aren't called the Flock for no reason, we can fly - we are going to sleep in the trees here tonight. Why not sleep in a hotel; well because we don't have time for a job so we don't have that much money and if we got a job, Itex would know about it and they control the scientists who are out to get us. The scientists who created us are now out to kill us. We are 98% human and 2%, you guessed it, bird. Ever since the Flock escaped four years ago, with the help of one of their very own Whitecoats, I might add, they have been trying to find and kill us. Pleasant isn't it?

Iggy is taking first watch. Iggy, Fang, and I all take watches because we are the oldest at fourteen. Nudge is eleven, Gazzy is eight, and Angel is six. I have been the leader since I was like twelve (That is when Jeb, the Whitecoat who helped us escape, abandoned us and when back to being the bad guy). I am the oldest by four months so that's why I am the leader. Anyhow, yes Iggy is blind, and you're right again! He's got first watch. He has the best hearing out of any of us so if anyone comes within a mile, Ig will hear them.

To shorten this, Iggy is blind and has super hearing (more on that later). I can fly at speeds exceeding 200 mph. Gasman has umm… atomic farts and can mimic voices perfectly once he has heard them. It is really funny, unless he is mimicking you, then it is just annoying. Angel can read and control minds. And talk to fish. I have no idea why the white coats gave her that but whatever. She can also change her appearance to that of a bird. The bird is the same size as her though. So it is about the size of a nine year old. We all look about three years older than we are. Nudge can touch something and sense the people that touched it. It is hard to describe but basically she can sense the leftover vibrations. Also, if she wants to, Nudge can make metal objects come to her. And Fang, well his gift fits him because if he is still, then he becomes invisible until he moves again. Total, our dog, can talk. He is another experiment. Akiela, Total's girlfriend, is just a normal dog. But don't ever let Total hear you say she is normal because he will tell you that she is extraordinarily beautiful and very smart and special. So that is for the most part our extra things, on top of being able to fly, that is.

The downside to New Mexico is the heat. It is probably around 90 degrees and it is 11 o'clock at night. Sweatpants as pajamas are not working.

Arrg! Now I have to get out of bed so I can change into shorts. I am pretty sure that I have two pairs of shorts. We just went shopping. One pair is jean shorts and the other is a pair of sofee shorts.

"Stop," Iggy says in a hushed but fierce tone.

Shoot, I forgot that Iggy would hear me but not know that it was me. I turned around and took a step towards him saying, "Iggy it is just me Max, don't worry," and I reached for his shoulder.

His hand shot out so fast to grab my wrist so that before I even touched his shoulder, he had my wrist. As he was reaching for my other hand he said "I said STOP."

I took my free hand and touched his hand that was holding my wrist in a vice like grip.

"Oh sorry Max," Iggy said as soon as my hand touched his. That was another thing about Iggy, when you lose one of your senses - in Iggy's case sight - the other four senses are heightened. Particularly (again in Iggy's case) his touch and hearing. He could hear pulses for pretty far away and just by touching you he knows who you are - if you were introduced before or if he had touched you before. He can match fingerprints to people and pores of people's skin to people. Weird, but useful.

"It's ok Ig, at least we know you're not sleeping on your watch," I whisper-laughed at him.

"Yup, at least you know," he said, trying to hold back his laughter.

"I am just getting some shorts to change into."

"Umm… ok… you…umm… do that," Iggy said while 'looking' at his feet.

"What's wrong?"

"What, umm, nothing, I think you should get to sleep, you have second watch."

So with that I went to my bag to get some shorts. Right now I didn't care which pair I pulled out, either would work. Actually, scratch that, I only have one pair, the last eraser fight we got in they were shredded when an eraser clawed my butt. Luckily I didn't get cut too bad but the shorts were trash. I guess that left me with my navy blue soffees. As I reached in my bag I felt a hand on each of my shoulders. The hands were very gentle, yet rough feeling at the same time. They were too gentle to be an enemy's or I would have turned around and done a roundhouse kick to their face. I assumed it was Iggy so I said,

"Ig, it's just me remember?"

"Oh," was my only reply. Based on that I knew it was Fang, the master of ½ sentences when forced to talk and one word replies when willingly talking.

"Fang, I'm just trying to find my shorts cause its way to hot to be sleeping in sweats," I said to him.

"You mean the ones that got the butt shredded by and eraser, or the ones Iggy and Gazzy used to light a bomb from a 'safe' distance?"

Holy cow! God I love his voice, Bad Max! Don't think that. Wait what? Bomb, my shorts, Gazzy, Iggy? I am going to kill them.

"You're kidding right? I do still have at least one pair of shorts don't I?" I asked.

"No."

"Crap. When did they make the bomb, I need to confiscate their stuff?"

"Uh today, when you and the girls were by the stream taking a bath," Fang said looking at his feet. Good he should feel guilty; he shouldn't have let them do that. And yes you heard that right. Nudge, Angel, and I were taking a bath in the stream today. It was cold but now I feel so much better.

"Great, sweats it is," I wanted to yell, but I whispered.

"You can borrow some of my shorts if you want," Fang said "'till we can get to a store," he added after a moment.

"Umm, Thanks."

"Be right back."

About three minutes later he came back with some black (as usual) basketball shorts. His favorite black basketball shorts.

"Thanks again… Umm, not that I don't appreciate it, but why your favorite pair?"

"Two reasons: they're the cleanest, and you're my favorite."

I just laughed thinking that he was being sarcastic because that was not something he would say. He looked hurt, not that his face betrayed any emotion, but deep in his eyes I thought I saw a flash of hurt.

"Wow you really do have a heart. You're most favorite shorts and the cleanest ones. Especially when you don't know when you're getting them back…I might just claim them as mine." I added that last part just to tick him off. I wouldn't really keep them unless for revenge, if he did something really bad, or if they were really comfy.

"That is fine; you can keep them if you want. You are worth a lot more to me then those shorts or anything else are."

With that he walked away after saying "G-night" and stacking fists with me.

I wandered over to my 'bed' only to not fall asleep because I was thinking about what Fang had said to me.

'See you do have feelings for him' my voice said after I thought 'maybe he does like me and everything I've done wasn't a waste.'

'No voice I don't' I thought back, careful not to say anything out loud.

'You can deny it to yourself all you want, but Angel and I know the truth.'

"No you don't!" I said, apparently out loud, as in everyone could hear it. Iggy looked at me like 'what is your problem' and Fang sat bolt upright looking at me with a trace of a smile on his face.

"Voice?" Fang asked, not like I was crazy because he knows I really do have a voice in my head.

"Yup," was my reply.

"What did it say?" he said doing a quick 360 to look for erasers and make sure we were safe.

"Nothing," I answered with a little too much passion for the current conversation.

By this point Angel was up and she was giggling. I shot her a look that said 'tell Fang or any of the others and you will be in major trouble.'

Her only reply was, "Don't worry I won't say anything."

Suddenly Fang got a full blown grin (a first) on his face, you know, like the kind that lights up my world.

"Wow Max, aren't you supposed to be sleeping?" Then he blushed. Yes, Fang, the Fang, the one and only Mr. I Will Never Show Emotion, blushed. That was the first time I have ever seen him blush.

"Yeah I was," was my very brilliant and well thought out response.

"Never mind, goodnight."

"Uhh, Max, your watch," Iggy said quietly a couple of minutes later.

"Okay, thanks," I whispered back.

"Hey, is something going on with you and Fang?" Iggy asked in an embarrassed yet curious tone.

I wish. "No," I answered.

"Oh, because he likes you; I'm not supposed to say anything but…he asked me to watch the younger ones if he got the courage to ask you on a date and you said yes. He…"

Iggy didn't get to finish because right then he was slammed to the ground by a very angry Fang.

"You promised not to tell," Fang said right before he threw a very good - or in Iggy's case bad - punch at Iggy's face.

"She would have figured it out sooner or later with your 'hints'… now get off me!" Iggy replied while spitting out some blood.

"Sorry," Fang said sounding very un-sorry. Then he turned to me with his eyes on the ground, "So what do you think?"

"I think you just punched Iggy in the face, said a very sarcastic 'sorry' right after slamming him into the ground," I lied. The truth was I was thinking about what Iggy was going to say before he was 'interrupted'.

"We both know that is not what I meant but, sorry Ig, but you did break your promise."

"Forget if Fang, but it didn't look like you were gonna tell her straight out that you liked her so I…intervened," Iggy replied, giving me time to think of an answer.

"And you Max?" Fang asked and I knew he wanted to know if I liked him or if I would say yes to a date.

"That depends on…" I paused because so far this was all I had as far as an answer went.

"On what Max?" he said gently after my pause.

"One, what Iggy was going to say, two, if what he did say is true and, three, why didn't you tell me yourself?" There, that was a good answer.

"Oh," was all he said.

"Fang, are you going to answer my question or is that not in your plans?" I said, slightly frustrated at the fact that I had to show that I was interested in whether or not he liked me.

"Question one is for Ig not me. Two, yes it is true, all of it. And three, I didn't want to push you." He glanced at me after that last part, and then quickly looked back at the ground surrounding his feet.

"What makes you think you would be pushing me to do anything, like you could even if you tried," I asked slightly baffled.

"I thought you still liked Sam from West Virginia."

"Wow, um, no I don't like Sam. I …"

"Guys shut up!" Iggy interrupted me then he added, "I think I hear something, and I feel it to."

A couple of moments later I heard it to. The sound of footsteps. Footsteps of very heavy things. Lots of very heavy things. Very heavy things called Erasers.

"Everyone up, the erasers found us! Fang, put Total in your backpack, you can't fight if you're carrying him!" I yelled. I instantly regretted it because the erasers knew that we knew that they were coming so rather than try to sneak slowly and quietly through the forest, they were full out running. But I was also very proud. My flock was up in seconds. Their blankets were folded and packed within ten seconds of me waking them up.

"I can make my own decisions and I do not appreciate you assuming that I want in Fang's backpack," Total said. Why argue now? We just needed to get out of here fast. So I did the only thing I could. I glared, like the glare that is usually reserved for Ari, Jeb, and the other Whitecoats. "Luckily I want to go with Fang, so I will," Total added as soon as he saw my face. He hopped in Fang's backpack.

"Up and away, now!" I said in a slightly louder than normal voice.

We were 100 feet up before the first eraser was even in the clearing. But of course being me, life isn't that easy.

About twenty erasers were in the air waiting for us, including…Omega!