Chapter 8 – Fang's POV

I woke up next to Max again the next morning. She was lying on her stomach and my resting on her back. Her shirt was slightly lifted up from where I had rubbed the spot between her wings, just like she had asked. I smiled at the memory and buried my face in her hair. I let my mind drift away from me but stayed awake. I could feel Max rustle in her sleep and I looked down at her. Her eyes snapped open, but softened when she saw me.

"Morning," she smiled. She reached up and kissed me softly, her taste lingering on my lips.

"Y'know, I could get used to waking up next to you like this," I smirked. She laughed in response. "Is that a yes?" I teased.

She grinned wider. "That's maybe, baby." I quietly chuckled at her lame rhyme and leaned down and kissed her nose. "Hmm, what is today?"

"Uhm, Friday, I think," I pondered the thought. "Wanna ditch?" She grinned even wider, if that was humanly possible.

"And spend the whole day with you? Hmm…" I frowned, she laughed. "Definitely. Just let me fix my hair."

I looked up at her adorably messy bed-head and smiled to myself. I rolled off the edge of the bed, ran my fingers quickly through my hair, and flattened out my clothes. Then I remembered; Iggy. He hadn't been to school in weeks. Everyone was worried. I looked over at Max, who was brushing her hair.

"Hey, can we swing by my house? I wanna check on my brother." She nodded understandingly.

"Yeah, so do I. Let's go." She dropped the brush and grabbed my hand, not letting go until we got to her truck. We drove almost silently to my house and found the door unlocked, which was strange for Iggy to do this early.

"Hello?" I called, hearing my voice echo off the walls. Maybe he had already driven to school? No, not possible; his little Honda was still parked in the car.

"Iggy? You here?" Max followed. She inhaled sharply and her eyes widened. "Blood. I can smell it." I felt my face fall, skin flush, and my heart beat faster. Max took off down the hallway towards Iggy's room and I instantly caught up with her. We finally reached Iggy's room…

"Oh my God," Max whispered.

Max's POV

Blood was pooling around his now red body and was staining the hardwood floor. Iggy was lying on the floor with a gun about 2 feet away from him, and his face contorted. He was still alive, but barely. His light breaths were rough, quick, and jagged. You could hear the pain getting worse with each one he took. There was a small hole in the middle of his chest.

"Oh my God," I whispered so quietly that I wondered if it was even audible.

"Iggy…" Fang trailed off. I looked over at him and saw a single tear slowly glistening down his pale face. I reached over to hug him, and felt his strong arms envelope me. I took in his musky sent and cried with him. When he pulled away, I looked up at his cold eyes.

"We need to get him to a hospital. Quick." Fang said gravely. I nodded hastily and gathered Iggy's bloody body in my arms. "I'll go start the car," Fang said.

"No, there's no time for that. We need to fly him over there." Fang gave me a dead look. "If we don't, then he'll die for sure." I said softly.

I saw pain flicker through his eyes for a split second before he grabbed Iggy's legs and ran out the door with me. The second our feet hit the ground, our wings snapped out and within seconds, we were in an alley behind the hospital.

"Let's go," Fang said coldly. This day was one that he will never forget.

Iggy's POV

Am I dead? If so, thank God. I finally did it. I finally killed myself. I just couldn't handle being the odd one out, the weird kid, the different one. I was so done with being like that and now I could just finally be normal.

Damn, my chest hurts. Everything is so fuzzy and red…am I in Heaven? Or am I in Hell?

Of course, I'm in Hell. That's the one place I belong for being so damn different. Why do I hear crying? And…Fang's voice? Is this some kind of test?

I just wish I was dead, end of story.

Max's POV

We had all gotten out of school to go to the hospital that day. Iggy and Fang's mother was in the waiting room, filling out papers. Fang, Angel, Nudge, Gazzy, and I were all gathered around Iggy's hospital bed. Nudge was crying into Angel's shoulder, and Angel into Gazzy's. I sat with my head on Fang's shoulder, still attempting to tell him that everything was going to be fine.

But I wasn't even sure.

Gazzy had been in the hospital for months because of the pneumonia. But he had never had so many needles and monitors and machines attached to him. I sat there with puffy red eyes, watching the strawberry blonde's chest rise up and down to the rhythm of the heart monitor.

"Ahem, excuse me," A gruff voice said softly behind us. We all turned our heads to see the doctor standing with a group of nurses behind him. "We're going to have to ask you to leave so we can run some tests. My deepest apologies," This sounded pretty rehearsed if you ask me.

We all slowly nodded as we got up from wherever we were sitting. We made our way into the waiting room one by one, Nudge being the last one. I looked back at her after walking out the door and saw her take one last look at Iggy before walking out too. Then I realized how much she truly loved this boy. Sympathy filled my heart as I grabbed her hand and took her with me.

We all sat silently in the same positions we were in before. Everything was completely quiet until a piercing scream echoed off of the hospital walls.

"Oh my goodness!" Cried the doctor.

Fang, Nudge, and I instantly jumped from our seats and Angel and Gazzy quickly followed us to the room. I saw the nurses backed up against the wall as the doctor studied the two long gashes on his back. It looked exactly like the ones Fang, Gazzy, and I had. Which meant that he had—

"Wings," The five of us whispered at the same time. We exchanged a quick glance of shock and confusion before looking back at Iggy and the flabbergasted doctor.

"Is there any explanation for this?" He screeched at us. And that's when Nudge punched him, knocking him out cold. Without thinking, I swung a punch at one of the nurses, then taking care of another one. The five of us were kicking and punching every person in the room, before unhooking Iggy and carrying him out.

Now, I know what you're thinking. "But, Max, isn't that dangerous?" Newsflash, people! We were on the frackking run here! We did anything we could. Back to what happened.

The five of us ran out to the alley, and we all unfurled our wings, not even taking a moment to wonder what the hell was going on. Fang and I carried Iggy, instinctively flying to our cave. Nudge, Gazzy, and Angel followed close behind, and I was so worried about the boy in my arms that I didn't even notice the numerous people staring up at us in awe or wonder.

When we finally arrived, Fang and I lay Iggy on the two lawn chairs (I know, not the best place ever.) and looked over at Nudge, Angel, and Gazzy who still had their wings out. Nudge's were a sweet mocha brown and a soft white. Gazzy's wings were still then golden brown they've always been. Angel's wings were a pure white that lit up the cave. Well, there was definitely gonna be a lot to talk about today, wasn't there?

Nudge's POV

Wow. Who would've thought?

Gazzy's POV

I can't believe it! This is amazing!

Angel's POV

I knew it.