Chapter 1(Fang’s POV)
Wow, I miss Max. Ever since we had that fight, I had hoped that some day, some miracle would happen and she would come back. The flock and I had heard of a burnt down Itex facility in Washington. We had gone to check it out and had found one tawny feather, singed on the edges, but other than that, it was fine. I had kept it to this day. I had pinned it up on my wall. It always reminded me of her. Whenever I got sad, I would hold it and I would become calmed. After we had found the feather, we had settled down in California. We lived on a secluded beach.

“I’m going for a walk on the beach.” I called to the flock. Iggy and I were sixteen. Nudge was thirteen. Gazzy was ten and Angel, sweet little Angel, was eight. Angel cried constantly about Max, and sometimes I heard her murmuring in her sleep about Max.

“Kay, be careful!” Iggy called back.

“I will.” I said. Ever since Max had left, I had become completely void of emotions. I kept them more bottled up more than ever. Without Max, I had no reason to live. I might as well just kill myself now. I walked out the door to the beach. The water felt good on my feet. I let the waves wash over my feet. I saw something out in the ocean. It was a girl, swimming with all of her might. She had blonde streaked hair. Her face was dirty, so I couldn’t get a full look at it. A wave washed over her head and she came back up. I recognized that face.

“Max!?” I called to the girl. She stopped swimming and looked up at me. She looked relieved, happy, sad, and angry all at once. She continued to swim. Her arms and legs moved rhythmically. She got to where she could stand. She was wearing ragged clothes. She took one look at me, smiled the biggest smile that she possibly could and started running towards me. Max didn’t look tired at all. She looked stronger. Her arms pumped as she got closer to me. I stood there, frozen to the spot. She reached me and wrapped her arms around me. I returned the embrace.

“I’m so sorry, Fang, I really am.” She said, her voice breaking.

“It’s okay, Max, shhh shhh.” I whispered into her long hair. She finally pulled away from me.

“Hey, Fang can Nudge and- wholly cow, MAX!” Angel screamed. Dashing towards Max and gripping her in a killer hug. Max was back.

Chapter 2(Max’s POV)

Okay, that was the last time I was going back to the school, no freaking way was I ever going to go free willingly. I stopped flying on a beach. I decided to get some swim practice. I got pretty far out before I realized that I should be getting back. As I neared the shore, I saw a dark figure standing on the beach. It looked like Fang. I miss Fang. I overreacted when he had told me about Storm. It was also a month after he had started dating her. That’s not why I hate her, though. She always told me that Fang was too good for me and that she was better than me. She was also an avian hybrid. Fang had been immediately attracted to her. She hated me, and I hated her. A wave washed over my dirty head.

“Max!?” The figure on the beach yelled. It was Fang! I stopped swimming to look up at him. I continued swimming. I wasn’t getting tired. I got to where I could stand up. I did. I smiled at Fang and started running towards him, my arms pumping as I neared him. I wrapped my arms around him and he did to me.

“I’m so sorry, Fang, I really am.” I said, my voice breaking due to the tears that were streaming down my cheeks.

“It’s okay, Max, shhh shhh.” He whispered gently into my matted hair. I pulled away from him, fresh tears springing from my eyes.

“Hey, Fang can Nude and- wholly cow, MAX!” Angel shrieked. She ran over to me and hugged me as tight as she could.

“Oh, Fangy!” Storm said in a singsong voice as she skipped out the back door. She stopped short when she saw me.

“What’s she doing here?” She asked flatly.

“I’m here to see my family.” I snarled.

“You do mean my and Fang’s family. I thought I told you to never come back. Fang is my boyfriend. You’re no longer welcome in this flock!” She yelled. The flock burst out and turned wide eyed at the sight of me.

“If she leaves, I leave.” Angel stated, standing next to me.

“Me too.” Gazzy said, standing next to me.

“Us too.” Nudge said and marched over with Iggy to stand next to me.

“Storm, how could you say that kind of thing to my best friend?” Fang asked in awe.

“I, uh, I, well, I didn’t, that’s what she said to me.” She stuttered.

Chapter 3(Fang’s POV)

“I did not!” Max shrieked, stepping up to Storm.

“She’s lying, Fang, don’t listen to her!” Storm said to me. Max lunged at Storm. Storm wasn’t called Storm for nothing. She started a storm and aimed a lightning bolt at Max. Max fell to the ground as Storm began laughing like a maniac.

“Get out of my sight, now!” She screeched at Max. Max stumbled up and unfurled her singed wings. She took a running start and leapt up, her feet touching the water before she rose into the air. Storm was still laughing.

“You jerk!” Angel screeched and followed Max with Gazzy, Nudge and Iggy close behind.

“We don’t need them, Fang.” Storm said.

“I need all of them, but I especially need Max. Get away from the property that I bought and never come back!” I screamed at her. She backed away fearfully and snapped open her black wings. She took off, soon becoming a small dot on the horizon. I turned towards the way that the rest of the flock had gone.

“MAX!” I heard Gazzy yell. I focused on five dots over the water. One was falling, fast. I took a running start and unfurled my wings. I zoomed towards the dots until they became clear.

“MAX, WHAT THE HECK ARE YOU DOING!? KILLING YOURSELF WON’T DO ANYTHING!” Gazzy yelled.

“AT LEAST IT’LL STOP THE PAIN!” She retorted. She waved goodbye as she hit the water with a splash. I zoomed after her, tucking my head in and hitting the water full force. I saw Max slowly falling down. She looked angry, not serene, calm, or peaceful as someone should be when they die. I grabbed her. She started struggling against me. I dragged her to the surface.

“Let go of me! Isn’t the love of your life waiting for you?” She snarled.

“Nope, I’m holding her.” I said calmly. Max stopped struggling and became limp in my arms. She was panting. I rose to the flock.

“Max, oh Max, why did you do that?” A scared Angel asked.

“Too much pain.” Max could barely talk. Max burst into tears. I held her to me as the older kids who understood what suicide was, looked shocked that Max, indestructible Max, mother figure Max, had tried to kill herself. They all slowly came to and started to comfort her. She was panting heavily, her singed wings now sopping wet with the rest of her body. We flew towards the beach house and landed. Storm had left a little surprise for us. I set Max down and she stumbled forward. She stepped on a certain spot in the sand and a bomb exploded, large enough to kill. I caught a note that said ‘I hope Max likes my little gift. When she’s dead, just call me, Fang you have my phone number.’ I crumpled it and dropped it. I let the smoke clear. Max was standing in the middle of it all laughing her head off.

“She thought she could kill me with a bomb!” She screeched, falling to the ground in howling in laughter. She took some deep breaths and stood back up. I gave her a confused look. She smiled. She took a deep breath.

“I went to the school, and I got an upgrade. I’m invincible, and I can control fire with my hands and eyes.” She said.