A/N- I've been a horrible updater lately. I guess I've just been lazy. After this I really should get back to A Silver Smile…it's been like, weeks. I feel like I abandoned a baby.

*AHEM AHEM* Anyways, I read Mockingjay! Great book. If you haven't yet, get it. The Hunger Games is awesome. So, this means that the next book on my queue is…*checks clipboard*…ANGEL, coming on March 14, 2011. It's named after the demon…please, let Angel die or something. Pit of lava, acid spitting spiders, anything to get rid of the bratty little control freak.

Oh, Yeah, And D7I7S7C7L7A7I7M7E7R7!- We do not own Maximum Ride. I have sent my cannibal elves on a ninja mission to steal the rights from James Patterson, but they have not yet returned. Wish them luck.

Chapter Twenty-Three

written by MissMusic17

Off-roading had been totally awesome! I couldn't believe how fun it was! I hoped we could go again; it was terrific, being able to get muddy and have nobody care.

Of course, the second we got back to the apartment, Max had to go all I'm-in-charge-of-you-so-take-a-shower on us.

I was lying on the bed I shared with Iggy, fiddling with the components for our next bomb. This one was going to be really small. Ig planned on carving out the sole of his shoe and hiding it in there. Max was pretty picky. No bombs, we could all die, blah. We didn't stop, we just got creative at hiding them.

I heard the door creak open, and quickly covered my half-finished bomb with the sheets.

"It's just me." said Angel.

"Oh, okay." I said, uncovering it again and scooting over, so she'd have room to sit with me. "Did you need something?"

She flopped beside me, blonde curls bouncing. "Actually, yeah. You know Rissa?"

I nodded at her, wondering where this was going. What about Rissa?

"Well, Iggy sorta, well, um…likes her."

I raised my eyebrows. "Of course he does, she's really nice and funny. What's not to like?"

Angel shook her head at me. "No, not like that. I mean, like likes." Her forehead was all creased up, she was upset and worried about this.

And I have to admit, so was I.

"What the heck? Are you sure? 'Cuz Iggy doesn't like her like that, he'd tell me, and this isn't happening, he would never do that to us! I mean, she's not even part of the Flock or anything, just a-"

"Gazzy, shut up. You're going all Nudge on me."

I blushed. "Sorry, but…Iggy…ugh."

"Yeah, I know. Ugh. We need to do something about it. We can't have him leaving the Flock, or worse, her joining us!"

I grinned my evilest grin. "So, we have to intervene."

When I woke up, Ashen and Gina weren't here. They probably went down to breakfast already. The hotel gave us free breakfast, so I all but ran down there, starved to death.

Yup, I was right. They were down there, sharing waffles with Iggy, Fang, Max, and Angel. Gazzy and Nudge were late sleepers, and the Doctor was probably off doing some work for the CSM or something. I slid into an empty chair and snatched Gina's plate.

"Good morning sunshine! Didja miss me?" I said, starting on Gina's food.

"We thought you'd sleep through breakfast." said Angel. Gina had started to work on Ash's food, but he really didn't seem to care that much. I rolled my eyes. Those two were such idiots. It wasn't hard. Gina likes Ash. Ash likes Gina. And yet, for some strange reason, they pretended that nothing was going on! Stupid. I loved them, but how blind can they get?

I ate my stolen bacon, silent. Then, Iggy suddenly burst.

"If an ostrich kicked you, would you fall down?"

I laughed. Randoop strikes again! "Well, ostriches are strong enough to kill you."

"So, you'd fall down, right?"

"Yeah, fall down dead!"

He huffed. "I'll take that as a yes."

I let out a huge sigh. Oh Iggy. Where on Earth did that come from? After breakfast, we followed the Flock back to their room, not sure of what we were going to do today.

We ended up playing Duck Duck Goose. This just proved exactly how bored we were, for six teens and three kids to end up playing Duck Duck Goose. Oh well. At least we were doing something.

I only voted for us to play this dumb kid game because, well, it was a pretty good excuse to have the others over at our apartment. And Rissa was going around, so I got the pleasure of having her touch me. I was estcatic.

So, of course, I missed her yelling "Goose!" until the Flock started to yell at me to get up and chase her. It wasn't really hard; I could hear everybody breathing, and her footsteps. I had the apartment pretty much memorized, so I knew exactly what was going on.

Apparently, she didn't want to take the traditional run around the circle. Rissa wanted to run clear across the apartment. Well, she can run all she wants. That girl was not going to escape my wrath! She will be the next Goose or my name wasn't Iggles McPheeley von Franklin Beverly Rock!

Well, actually, it wasn't. But that sounds a whole lot more dramatic than Iggy.

I chased after her as fast as possible. But I accidentally tripped, on what I have no clue.

And fell right on top of her, pinning Rissa to the ground. Awkward.

So, I decided to get daring.

I leaned closer, pressing against her, and kissed Rissa straight on the lips. Her breathing quickened, and I felt paralyzed.

"You're it." I told her, and kissed her again.

God, I've never felt so alive.