Fang's pov

I pushed through the crowd of people in the hallway of Sam's house. I looked around, searching for some sign of Max. I had to find her before she did something stupid with Sam.

"Hey, it's the emo kid!" a jock slurred, putting an arm around my shoulders.

I jerked away.

"Touch me again and you'll never be able to play football again." I threatened him.

"Whoa man, chill out." He spilled his drink on the carpet of the living room.

I walked away, towards the hallway again, but something caught my eye.

Up at the top of the stairs was Max, crying. She was rushing down the stairs so fast that I didn't have time to get to her. She flew through the back door before anybody saw her.

Eventually, I made it to the door and left the house. It was fairly cold outside and dark. Very dark.

I looked around; I couldn't see her anywhere. Maybe she already left?

I glanced across the street and saw Max sitting under the street light hugging her knees, looking down. I walked towards her. My hand reached out to her shoulder. She jumped about three feet in the air.

"Oh, I didn't see you there." She said, scooting over. I sat down next to her.

"Max, what's wrong?"

She wiped her eyes and sat up straight.

"There's nothing wrong." Her voice got an octave higher.

I smirked and gave her a sideways glance.

"You're a horrible liar, Max." I said.

She laughed, "I know"

"But really, what's wrong?" I pressed.

She sighed and stared at the ground for a few minutes.

"You were right." She finally said.

"Right about what?" I was confused.

Max's pov

"Right about what?" he asked me.

Ugh I wish he would just read my mind so I didn't have to say it out loud.

"Sam" I let all my hatred come out in that one word. By the tone of my voice, he knew exactly what I was talking about. Fang had this knowing look in his eyes.

"That bad, huh?"

I laughed despite myself.

"Yeah I guess you could say that. I found him with another girl. Then he said that he never even liked me. I was just his entertainment." I gritted my teeth.

"Give me a reason not to go back in that house, find that bastard, and beat the crap out of him." Fang growled.

"Well, for starters, I'm out here." He cracked a smile.

"Look, I'm over it. There's no need to beat the crap out of anyone." I said.

"But there is a need. He needs to know that he can't mess with you like that." He paused.

"You need to know that you're better than his entertainment. You're beautiful and you deserve someone who sees that."

"Wow fang, that's the most I've ever heard you say" my voice was joking but I couldn't help but think about what Lissa had said.

Was Fang really in love with me?

"Well, I had a lot to say." He said, smirking.

"But what matters is that you're finally away from him." He said.

"Why do you sound so happy?" I asked, half laughing.

Fang looked me dead in the eyes.

"Because now I have a fighting chance." He whispered.

I stared at him in shock. Huh. So I guess he really is in love with me.

He smiled and cupped my face in his hands. He slowly leaned in, pressing his lips to mine.

You know what? Sam did me a favor. He made me realize that the one who's always been there for me and always will be is Fang. Plus, he made me realize just how much I was in love with Fang. It was a lot more than I thought.

I kissed him back with everything I had left.