I UPDATED SOMETHING!

SO PROUD OF MYSELF!

Fang: About damn time...

Me: Hey! I've been writing more lately! Just...Not always stuff that makes it on

Fang: You mean your rping stuff?

Me: No! Well, some of it, but not all of it!

Fang: Ok, ok, no one cares for your excuses, give your poor readers their chapter!

Me: Grouchy, much?

Fang: I'm hungry.

Me: Oh jeez...

Lark's POV

"Lark! Lark, slow down!"

Leave it to Fang. Couldn't leave well enough alone, could he? I need some time away from people and their messed-up emotions, so what does he do?

He follows me.

Idiot.

I poured on the speed, hoping, if I couldn't lose him, he'd at least get the picture and give up.

"Lark, damn it! Come on! I just want to talk to you, then I'll leave you alone!"

I sighed loudly, almost a groan, really, and flipped around, doing my best to hover in mid-air and wait for him to catch up. Not that either of us could really hover, but we could stay in relatively the same space, moving up and down slightly in the air, depending on how we flapped. "What do you want, dude?" I asked as soon as he was close, not even trying to keep the annoyance out of my voice. Not like my eyes wouldn't betray me, anyway.

"I... Just wanted..." He was breathing hard. Obviously, it had taken more out of him that I thought to catch up with me.

"Breathe, Fang." I told him, crossing my arms. "Or do we need to land?"

He shook his head, catching his breath. I made a mental note that he and I needed to go flying more. Obviously, he was out of practice.

"Just wanted to tell you... You're right." He finally said, able to raise his head and look me in the eye.

"Well, duh." I replied, rolling my eyes.

"Let me elaborate." Fang continued. "You're probably the most focused person in this group. You're not bogged down by the all the Flock drama, you're more... Mature than some of the others. You're able to see the bigger picture better than any of us."

"Your point, Fang? 'Cause I know you're not just here to flatter me." Would he just get to the point? He was all hopeful, confident. Not like I didn't know his words had intentions.

"I'm just saying, Lark... I'm gonna need you." Fang replied. "I need someone to keep me focusing, someone to hold me accountable."

"You want me to be your babysitter?" I asked, scoffing slightly. "Not exactly my dream job, birdboy."

"Not a babysitter, no." Fang corrected. "More like... A second-in-command. And a peacekeeper for all sides, sort of. You can keep things under control."

"Second-in-command, huh?" I shrugged. "Sounds like a glorified babysitter to me."

"It's not." He reassured me. "It's giving you a bit more responsibility in this group."

"Oh, because I don't have enough." I said sarcastically, rolling my eyes.

He smiled at my response, his confidence levels a bit higher than I would expect them to be. "It's nothing you won't already do. Now you just have my permission. Keep me from letting my emotions control my actions."

"What emotions?" I asked, smirking. "I'm reading nothing but boring, emotionless brick wall." Far from the truth, of course. I was the only person Fang couldn't completely hide his emotions from, but I had to pick fun at his attempts.

It was his turn to roll his eyes. "Right. Well, I'll leave you to ponder that. Enjoy your flight." We nodded to each other and he turned, starting to fly back in the direction of the house.

I turned as well, determined to enjoy what was left of my long flight in silence, when I heard him calling back to me. "Lark! Hey, Lark!"

"NOW WHAT?!" I practically screeched, flipping around and having to swat a strand of my red hair out of my face.

Even from as far away as he was, my sharp eyesight caught his grin and my powers sensed his amusement. "I'm glad you decided to come!" He called to me.

I just nodded to him again and flew off, tired of his crap.

He was glad I had come along on this drama-filled rescue mission. He had a use for me.

But was I cool with all this?

Guess I was gonna find out...

Dylan's POV

"Max, just chill. Deep breaths."

"Don't tell me what to do right now!" She snapped back at me, kicking the bedroom trashcan over, causing old tissues and soda cans to spill across the floor.

"Max, please-" I tried to get her attention again. She need to calm down before she hurt herself or broke something.

"I can't BELIEVE that little... Red-haired wonder!" She snapped. "It's always the redheads with him, isn't it?!"

I just nodded, giving up my attempts to calm her rage. She was going to go on this rampage whether I wanted her to or not.

"How dare she change my emotions like that?! She has NO RIGHT!" She sat down on her bed, her hands shaking like she wanted to punch something, but there was nothing to punch. "And she can't act like she knows us and knows are situation! Though I'm sure Mr. Charming has told her everything!" She added snidely.

I nodded again. "Trust me, Max. I hear ya." Lark's empath powers were a lot like Angel's telepathic powers. They shouldn't be used on just anyone. Yes, it was hard for Max and Fang to stay on task around each other (a great reason for him to NOT be around), but that was only to be expected after he left. I still didn't understand why we had to let him and his little rag-tag band of mutant misfits stay here. We could work with them just as well if they were staying elsewhere and we just got together to plan.

"How are we supposed to find Ella like this?" Max asked me. "God, if Fang and I can't get along for even a day... We'll never get anything done."

"I think it's too much at one time." I stated. "After he ran out on you like that... He can't just waltz back in here with his new friends and move in."

Max sighed, her gaze dropping to the floor. "But he can, Dyl. He's Fang. Yeah, he ran out, and I'm not exactly happy about that, but... He's family. I can't act like he's not welcome. He's always welcome. And at least if we're all together, and can make sure we're all safe. He's better off here than anywhere else."

"So he's better off causing drama here and making it harder for you to focus?" I asked, stepping closer to her. "We need you focused now, Max. Ella needs you to be focused. There's a time and a place to make nice with Fang and let him back in the family, but this isn't it." Yeah, let him back in as family. Like a brother.

"Look, Dylan, this isn't a simple fix kind of problem." Max explained to me. "I can't just kick him out."

"Why?" I asked, sounding a bit more irritated than I meant to. It sounded like she was just making excuses. I hated it when she did this to herself, made sacrifices so that everyone else could be happy. Everyone but her.

She sighed. "It's complicated, Dylan, alright?"

I could tell by her tone, she was done with the conversation. I was tempted to try and push the subject further, but I knew how well that would end with her. "Alright, fine."

"Dylan, don't be mad-"

"I'm not mad." I told her. "I'm... Frustrated, but I can deal with that. You know what you're doing. I trust you. I just don't always understand."

Before she could respond, I stepped out of the room and headed down the hall towards the back door. I needed some air so I could calm down and think.

Once outside, I decided against actually taking off and flying for a bit. Lark was out there, somewhere, possibly with Fang, and I didn't feel like running into either of them. Instead, I just started walking, taking deep, calming breaths as I went.

I needed to find a way to deal with all this.

We needed Fang to get Ella back, but we didn't need his whole group here, screwing things up. We had enough mutant kids under this roof to deal with.

As I walked, I set my mind to work on our predicament. We couldn't go on with all these mutant kids shoved together. Hell, just expecting Max to put up with Fang and his crap was enough. The good news, I realized as I thought things through, was that Fang's group wasn't exactly as close-knit as the Flock was.

It probably wouldn't take much to tear that group apart.

Without the group, Fang would have to come back to us to stay, but as a failure, proving Max right that he was better with us than on his own.

His group would be scattered, far away from us.

And, sure, Fang would be back in the picture, but I'd deal with that later. Maybe, if I could show Max how much of a better second-in-command I was, she wouldn't really feel like she needed Fang anymore. He could stick around, be part of the family, I didn't care, so long as he wasn't a threat to me being with Max anymore.

Now, how exactly to put this plan into action...

Fang: This proves that Dylan is evil.

Me: -eyeroll- Oh jeez...

Fang: Trying to tear my group apart...

Me: Calm yourself. Alright, might as well just get this chapter up.

Fang: So you can go on your Maximum Ride rp and waste time, right?

Me: NO! ...Well, maybe... BUT NO!

Fang: -facepalm- No wonder you never get writing done..

Me: -.- Shut up.

R&R?