Let's just pretend that Nudge and Gazzy are twins and Dr. Martinez and Ella and Jeb don't exist, okay? This is all human.

And Fang is a little bit out of character…just a bit.

Disclaimer: Are we supposed to be putting these up, because I've just been going straight to the stories.

Chapter One – A Bit of Growing Up Over the Summer

Max POV

I can't believe summer's already over. I'm finally going to be able to see my best friend Fang. I've been waiting for the end of the summer to come. Sure, I had a fantastic summer, but it wasn't the same without Fang.

See Fang, spent his summer at a hockey camp, while I was on vacation in Hawaii with my family. This was the first summer we've ever spent apart since we were four. We've been best friends since kindergarten and neighbours since we were born. Literally.

Our parents bought our houses at around the same time, two newlyweds looking for a place to settle down and raise a family. My parents already had Iggy – my older brother – and wanted a bigger family, and their current apartment wasn't big enough. Our parents became close friends and haven't thought of moving ever since. As we grew up, Fang and I grew closer and closer, our parents sending us to the same school, as we got older. Now we're starting high school together.

As kids we were inseparable – yeah, I had girl friends and Fang had his guy friends too, but we never separated during school. People always thought our friendship wouldn't last – because according to them, guys and girls couldn't be just "friends". But, we proved them wrong, our friendship didn't break.

Anyway, now I'm waiting for David – Fang's dad, people close to him call him Dave – with Fang's mum, Lucy on the front lawn, with my own parents and brother and sister, for Fang to arrive home.

My siblings too, were waiting for Fang; my older brother Iggy, who's in his senior year this year, and Jake, who's twelve – we call him Gazzy – and my younger sister Monique – we call her Nudge – who's twelve; she and Gazzy are twins. Fang had siblings as well, a younger sister, Angel who just turned seven.

Dave's car pulled up on the driveway, "Fang?" Angel called running to the car.

"Hey cutie! Miss me?" Fang picked Angel up swinging her onto his back.

Fang walked over to his mum, towering over her. Wow, Fang grew like four inches over the summer; I used to be taller than him, but now he was a whole head taller than me.

"Welcome back Fang, have a great time?" Iggy slapped him on the back.

"Yeah, but I missed everyone," Fang walked over to the rest of our party to say their welcome backs and etc. He put Angel on the ground, stroking her hair. "Did you have fun with Max and everyone else in Hawaii?" Angel nodded enthusiastically. "It was so fun!"

Fang looked over to me, lucky last. He hugged me, though I had to stand on my toes to reach his neck. This whole taller-than-me is going to take a while to get used to.

"Missed you," I whispered in his ear.

"Not as much as I missed you. It wasn't the same without you," he whispered back in my hair.

Let's get one thing straight before I continue. Fang is not my boyfriend. Though Iggy always joked about it. People always thought he was, or wondered why he hasn't made a move. Why, because he was my best friend, like a brother really. He could date anyone, and I wouldn't care. And the same goes the other way round.

We stood apart taking in everything that changed over the summer. I had matured a more, Fang had gotten taller, but to me he was still the same old Fang to me.

"Gee Max, you've grown." Fang told me after taking in what has changed. He measured my height compared to his. I only came up to his chin.

"So have you, but to me you're still the same old Fang." I playfully nudged Fang.

"Okay let's head inside and have lunch," Hayley, my mum motioned for everybody to get inside.

-:-:-:-:-:-:-

"So how was hockey camp?" Phil, my dad, asked Fang while we were having a huge welcome back lunch, which my mum made.

"It was great. I got a whole lot of lessons and tips from professional hockey players and coaches. I learned heaps of techniques and…" I zoned out my dad's, Fang's dad and Fang's voices. Hockey wasn't really my thing. I was more of a track and field girl. Though, Fang and I both had an interest in swimming; we were both on the school swimming team.

"You both excited for the first day of high school?" Lucy asked, making me come back to earth.

"Yeah," Fang and I answered in a bored tone.

"Iggy, you'll be picking and dropping them off, on Monday." My mum asked Iggy in a that-is-not-a-question-you-have-to-do-it tone.

"Of course mum," Iggy answered sarcastically.

"After the first day of school," my mum continued as if Iggy hadn't had spoken, "you two will be taking the school bus together."

Fang and nodded, and exchanged a look. Sometimes out mums' act as if both of us were their children. In a way, Fang was pretty much a brother to me. My younger brother. I was older than Fang, though only by four months. But I never let him forget it.

-:-:-:-:-:-:-

The first day of school came quickly, too quickly in my opinion. I really wanted to spend more time with Fang. We spent the last week of summer in our backyards, mostly in our tree house. Our backyards were separated by a wooden fence, though both of our dads made the fence able to open up pretty big.

Anyway, our dad's built a house in this tree, when Lucy, Fang's mum was pregnant with him. My mother had already given birth to me; I was probably around a few months old. Our dads had dreams that we would play in the tree together. as were grew up together. Which we did.