Another Niggy Story by PeruvianChick

Are you comfortable? Have a yummy snack in you hand? Are you ready to sit back, relax and read? Good, because I'm going to tell you a story. A Niggy story(actually, Another Niggy Story ;)

Think back . . . Think back to all those Fax-filled fics you've read. Remember how there was sometimes slight or implied niggy? Remember how Max barely even cared because she was too busy falling in love with Fang? Yeah well, this story isn't going to be like that. Because guess what? This is reality. And reality can suck sometimes. Because in reality- Max would do anything to stop niggy from happening.

And that's the truth.

When a hot girl kisses you- you kiss her back. You don't stop to think about any of the technicalities like how there is almost a three year age difference between you and her. You don't stop to think about what would happen if someone caught you. And you definitely don't push her away, wondering why the heck she would kiss you.

No, you think about how sticky her cherry lip-gloss is, you think about how soft her lips are, you think about where to place your arms so it won't seem too awkward. You think about the fact that you've been lusting after this girl for the past few weeks, and now the waiting is over.

And then you let yourself fall into utter bliss.

This is one of the few times when I thank my lucky stars that I'm blind. Because I'm blind my other senses are heightened, they're sharper, and better. I could feel the texture of her full light pink lips. I could basically see the color of her creamy mocha stained skin under my fingertips. I could feel the incredibly smooth, almost velvety skin on her neck. I inhaled deeply and could smell Nudge's flowery, watermelon scent. I slipped my hand around her neck and silky, black strands of hair rushed by my fingers.

She was so beautiful.

So perfect.

So cute, angelic and delicate.

When a hot girl kisses you- you kiss her back.

And when a voice yelps, "Iggy! Nudge! What the hell are you two doing?!"

You jump away.

From the tone of Max's voice, I could tell she was pissed. From her short, ragged breaths I could tell she was pissed. Pissed, angry, furious, livid, maddened, steamed . . . I can't think of any more words to describe how enraged Max was.

. . . . but also . . . just plain shocked. Like someone had just slapped her.

I heard her angry stomps make their way to Nudge and heard Nudge call out, "Ouch!" when Max yanked her farther away from me.

"What. Are. You. Two. Doing?" Max hissed, her voice deathly low, and I knew she was shooting daggers at me with her eyes.

Crud.

"Max, I-" I tried to explain exactly what happened, but it was pretty obvious.

"Iggy. . . . Iggy, how could you." Max didn't sound so mad anymore, she sounded more confused, "How could you kiss Nudge?" Her voice got strong again, "You're three years older! You- she- she's you little sister for crying out loud! What is your problem?!"

The end of her sentence was tinged with desperation. She was desperately trying to wrap her mind about what just happened.

I resisted from pointing out that it was Nudge who kissed me, and set my face hard and unflinching, "Calm down, Max. Jesus, we were just-"

"Sucking faces, I saw." She spat, not letting me finish.

"Let go of me, Max. Iggy didn't kiss me. I kissed him." Nudge spoke up and I hid my surprised expression, "And I wanted to kiss him. I'm turning fifteen in a few days-"

"Shut up." Max muttered, taking a shuddery breath. I heard her take a few more steps back, pulling Nudge along with her, "I can't believe you, Iggy. You should know better. It's just . . . It's just sick."

My stomach did a flip. It's just sick. Was it sick? Was it wrong that I liked Nudge? Was it wrong that I didn't think of her as a sister, like I was supposed to?

"Whatever." I muttered, unable to say anything else, and turned around. We were in the middle of the woods, heading over to Dr. Martinez's house. I carefully made my way out, hoping I wouldn't stumble over a root and make myself look stupid. Fresh air hit my face and I knew I had reached a clearing.

"Iggy-!" Nudge called out from far behind me but I had already snapped my wings open.

Shaking my head, I took a running start, flapped my wings, and flew off.

~I would specially like to give lots of thanks to Who Are You I Am Me for helping me by reading and giving me tips on the first few chapters. She is AMAZING, and thanks again chikadee!~

So, if you like the beginning, and if you like the idea, tell me! Or if you just hate Max for getting angry, or Iggy for running away, then feel free to hate!

!~PeruvianChick~!

Okay, first of all- this story sort of pushes the T rating. Only in language because obviously, when things get dramatic, people tend to cuss. So please, I warned you.

Second- this is IMPORTANT. I am seriously considering ABANDONING FANFICTION. High school is baring down on me, and it's getting pretty hard . . . And, I don't know, I've also kind of lost interest in Maximum Ride. But since I still love the idea for this story, I will try to finish it . . .

You know the drill, sit back, relax and read.

I hate Iggy. For the past two weeks, he really seemed to really like me. And then he just . . . just runs away like that. I hate him. I hate him, I hate him. I don't care about his wild, unruly but still amazing strawberry-blonde hair. I don't care about his hazy, but still beautiful, blue stormy eyes. I don't care about his laid-back, easy attitude, or his lazy but still sweet smile. And I definitely don't care about how when we kissed . . . it was just like in the romance novels I love to read. I saw fireworks, I saw blinding white flashing lights behind my eyelids, my knees went weak and I felt like I was on top of the world.

No. I don't care because I hate him.

I hate him, I loathe him, I detest him, I never want to see his ugly face ever again.

Ever.

I'm serious, if I had to stay in a room with him for more five minutes I would never in a million years kiss him again. I'd-

I'm rambling again, aren't I?

Ugh.

I glared angrily at the tree trunk in front of me. Max had yelled at me for a good thirty minutes before leaving me here. We were going to start traveling again as soon as Iggy came back.

Iggy.

I screamed in frustration.

Then, curling up in a small ball, I closed my eyes and tried to sleep.

.•*•.~.•*•.flashback.•*•.~.•*•.

I opened my eyes and found myself in the dark. I blinked a few times, and looked up, trying to see between the tree branches to the sky so I could check what time it is. I couldn't see anything but my internal clock told me it was around dusk.

"Breakfast?" Iggy offered, and I noticed he was awake.

"Mm-hm." I murmured sleepily, and crawled over to were he was starting a fire. I glanced around and noticed that the rest of the flock was gone. My heart started with a jump.

"Whe-"

"They just left a few minutes ago to try to get some food before the morning rush."

"Oh." I said, understanding. Our days of quietly saving the world were pretty much over now. Everyone knew who we were and we were really famous. It was hard to do anything without people stopping us and asking for our autographs. It was pretty cool, but it got tiring after a while.

Iggy turned to me and gave me a half-smile, "The only thing we have left are some hotdogs. Want one?"

"Ew!" I blanched, "Are you sure? Don't we still have that candy bar left?"

"Nudge." Iggy gave me an 'are you for real' look, "A candy bar. Six mutant kids on the run. Chocolate. Max. That candy bar didn't stand a chance."

I giggled, "Darn. Well then, no thanks. I think I'll just wait for them to come back with the food. I hope they remember to get me a salad. Do you think they serve salads in the morning?"

Iggy shrugged, got a hotdog from his backpack, found a pretty clean-looking stick and seared the hotdog on the stick. He held it over the fire and I sat next to him, both of us staring into the fire, watching the hotdog roast.

"So, your birthday is in two weeks." Iggy started saying and I let out an excited squeal.

"I know! I'm so excited! It's going to be so much fun! And I can't wait to see Ella!" I giggled happily. Ella and I had become close over the last few years, and now we were practically bff's.

"Yeah, Ella." Iggy gave a small smile which I studied closely.

"Oooh, is someone excited to see Ella?" I teased good-naturedly.

"Psh, no." He scorned.

"Uh-huh, suuure." I nudged his side, grinning.

He rolled his eyes, "Really."

"I believe you." I said seriously, then added, "I believe you when you say you really want to see her."

"Nudge. Shut up." He took his hotdog out of the fire and blew on it. It was charred and brown. I got to admit, it did smell pretty good. I couldn't help licking my lips.

Oblivious to my desire for his hotdog, Iggy shoved it in his mouth and bit off half. Ew, boys are gross eaters.

"Mmm," He moaned, "God, Nudge, you're really missing out."

I glared at him, a look that was lost since he, no duh, couldn't see it.

He took another nible and moaned again, "Ohhhhh," he groaned, "Ohhhh, soooogood."

I curled my hands into a fist next to my sides and resisted the desire to snatch the hotdog away and shove it in my own mouth.

"Whatever." I muttered, but watched helplessly as Iggy kept chowing down his dog, until there was only one more bite left.

No, no, no, I repeated in my head, you don't eat meat! You don't eat meat! Meat is yucky, it's disgusting, you are a proud vegetarian!

Iggy stuck his tongue out and licked his dog. My stomach fluttered as I watched his tongue curl around the- ew! ew! Why was I watching Iggy lick a hotdog? Ew!

"You do not know what you are missing." Iggy murmured, "Do not know."

He opened his mouth, about to pop the last bit in his mouth. That's when I lost control of my arm. Before I could stop myself, I reached out, swiped the last bite of his dog and downed it.

Oh, god. It was good.

"Hey!" Iggy yelped, turning to me, "I thought you didn't eat meat!"

I have to admit, there was a trickle of guilt in my stomach, but mostly just a yummy taste on my tongue.

"You're right." I nodded, "That was delicious. Absoluteley the best thing I've ever tasted. Well, not really, but very favorful . . ."

Iggy scowled, but then a smug look crossed his face instead, "Ha! You totally caved! Haha!"

I stuck out my tongue, not caring that it was childish, "Shut up! You were making such a big deal about it! I had to try it!"

"Totally. Caved." He grinned.

I shoved him, "If you weren't making all those sounds and moaning and groaning about it . . ."

He raised an eyebrow, "So it was my moaning and groaning that convinced you?"

I felt my face heat up and knew I was blushing furiously. I was instantly glad he couldn't see it.

"Noooo . . . it was . . ." I tried to think of something but was distracted by Iggy's smirk. He has a nice smile, I thought briefly before I mentally slapped myself again. What the freak?! He has a nice smile? What?!

"Ohhhh, oh gawd," He did an over-exaggerated groan, "So good. Oh, man, the way if slides down my throat, so big and thick-"

"Sikko!" I yelled, smacking his arm, "You're so sick!"

Iggy burst out laughing, his chuckles deep and throaty, "Ah-hahahahaha. Hahahahaha," he laughed, a wide grin spreading across his face, "Awww . . . HAHAHAHA"

"Shut up!" I hissed, standing up angrily, "I hate you! Just shut up!"

"Ahhh . . ." He stopped, tipped his head up, having heard me get up, "Aw, come on Nudge, I was just kidding."

I shook my head, my cheeks were still flushed, and to my disgust it was of embarrassment rather than of anger. Really, it wasn't the joke that made me angry, I just hated that Iggy could get me so embarrassed. I started to stomp away but Iggy got up too, and tried to follow me.

"Nudge," he pleaded, "Nudge, it was just a joke."

I ignored him.

"Nudge." he sighed, then stopped, listening for my footsteps. I tried to breath quietly but he heard me anyway and walked over to me. I didn't bother to move away.

"Whatever." I muttered.

He didn't say anything, just stood in front of me for a while, shifting his weight from foot to foot. Suddenly, unexpectedly, he reached out and hugged me. I froze, shocked, and just let him wrap his arms around me. I hadn't hugged Iggy since I was . . . eleven? Hesitantly, I raised my arms and put them around him too. Attentively resting my head on his shoulder, I couldn't help thinking:

Iggy smells kinda nice.

!~PeruvianChick~!

I'm sorry. I'm sorry, but I just cant keep up with this story. With fanfiction at all, actually. So, I'll take he time right now to say goodbye to everyone, to say thank you for reading this story, and my stories, and that I really appreciate everything.

I'd also like to recognize and thank:

Sparkleglitz01, Rootlessdream, and Maximumchryst.

Because you all are great authors and you inspired me to write, and you all and a lot of others also influenced writing. I hope you'll keep writing, and keep doing this, and thanks and good bye to all my reviewers in general.

Now- Since this story was largely pre-written, I am going to post absolutely EVERYTHING I have written so far. EVERYTHING is right here, incase you really wanted to read it. Just please keep in mind that this is basically a rough draft of the how the story was supposed to go, so there will be quite a few mistakes.

Sit back, relax, read.

.•*•.~.•*•.Iggy.•*•.~.•*•.

Have I made a mistake?

That question has been running through my mind ever since Nudge and I had gotten caught by Max. I didn't know what to think, what to do. Yeah, I was scared. I was scared of my feelings for Nudge and I was scared of what Max would do now that she knew

I was scared, and like a coward, I had run away.

Now I was flying back to the flock, knowing that if I was away any longer, Max would just get even angrier at me.

Landing quietly, I stumbled around awhile, trying to find our campsite. I knew that it was around here somewhere but . . .

"Iggy!" A happy little girls voice called.

"Hey Angel." I said, cocking my head to hear where her voice was coming from. I carefully made my way to my right. Angel grabbed my hand to help me and I gave her a thank you smile.

"We've been waiting for you." Angel said, bouncing up and down on the balls of her feet. She was so excited.

"Is Max still mad at me?" I asked, preparing myself for the answer.

"Yeah, I think so. She keeps trying to block her thoughts from me, but I can tell. Her face is all pinched and frowny." Angel sounded a little sad, "What happened, Iggy? And why does Nudge hate you?"

Nudge hates me?

My stomach dropped as I heard those words. The last thing I wanted was for Nudge to hate me.

"Oh, good." Angel said, sounding a relieved, "You should apologize to her."

"Thanks, Angie," I nodded, "I will. I hope she forgives me."

Yeah, forgives me from running away and leaving her in Max's wrath. I wont blame her is she never wants to see me again, I thought, and then instantly regretted it.

"Huh? You ran away? Why?" Angel stopped, "Iggy?"

"Angel, what have we said about reading peoples minds?" I scolded gently.

"Sorry." She said, "But I just wish someone would tell me what's going on!"

In the past few years, Angel had grown into a very curious nine year old. She always wanted answers, always wanted to know what was happening that people weren't telling her. It was cute, but also a little annoying.

I waited to see if Angel responded, but she didn't say anything, so I decided she had stopped reading my mind. Good.

We finally stepped into our campsite, and I was instantly struck by the chill in the air. Oh, no.

"Iggy. You've finally decided to grace us with your presence." Max's voice came from about twenty feet to my left. her voice was dripping with sarcasm.

"Hi." I said, stuffing my hands into my jean pockets, "We leaving now?"

Max didn't respond and I took that time to figure out where everyone in the flock was. I could very faintly hear Gazzy walking around, about fifty paces up and to my right. I tried hard to make out Fang's deep even breaths, and finally picked them out, not far from where Max was. Total was easy to find, because he was yapping away next to Gazzy. But Nudge . . . where was Nudge?

There was a loud zipping sound as Max finished packing, and then some stomping as she put out the last of our fire.

"Nudge!" She called out loudly, "We're leaving now!"

I heard leaves ruffling from a little ways behind me and stood still as Nudge walked next to me, not stopping or even pausing before passing me and going over to Max.

"Okay." She said, her voice flat and emotionless.

I bit the inside of my cheek, hard.

I'm sorry, Nudge.

.•*•.~.•*•.~.•*•.~.•*•.

We were cruising a few hundred feet in the air. The air was colder here, wind snapped in my face. The only way to tell were the flock was, was by picking out their scent. Max smelled earthy, almost dirty. Fang smelled more like nature. Gazzy always had a trace of his little stink after which we had named him for. Total . . . well, he smelled like a dog. Angel smelled like Max, but not as strong, more breezier.

Then there was Nudge. I loved Nudge's smell. I always had, actually. She smelt of that watermelon bubblegum she liked to chew. She smelt of the free perfume samples she liked to use sometimes when we came by a mall. She smelt . . . of summer, of sunshine, of sweetness.

I let my mind wander, my thoughts traveling. Letting the last rays of warmth seep into my bones as the sun set, I let my thoughts drift to Nudge.

.•*•.~.•*•.flashback.•*•.~.•*•.

We had been flying for a long time, and had finally, finally convinced Max to stop at Mickey D's for some burgers. Yes! Score!

"You know that Thousand Island dressing? I love that dressing!" Nudge was babbling, "I hope they have it, it's so good!"

"I hope they have the grilled chicken sandwiches!" Gazzy yelled over the wind, "I could eat five of those!"

"Ew, Gazzy!" Nudge shouted, "Why would you eat a chicken! That's like . . . that's like eating your cousin! Blah, gross!"

"No it's not!" Gazzy defended himself, "We're only two percent bird! There's nothing wrong with eating chicken!" There was a pause, "Right?"

"Of course not Gazzy," Max comforted him, "Nudge, just because you don't like to eat meat or chicken, doesn't mean Gazzy can't like it."

"Hmph." I bet no one else heard Nudge's pouting.

I couldn't resist, "I know of one meat Nudge doesn't mind."

"Iggy!" Nudge squawked, "Don't you dare!"

"Huh?" Max asked. Now we had gotten the flocks attention.

"Because it's just soooo good that Nudge cant resist it." I teased.

"Iggy shut up!" Nudge shrilled, but I could hear the faint smile in her voice.

"What? What is it?" Angel asked, curious as usual.

"She just loves it so much that she can't help herself." I said with a sigh, "It's kind of sad really, how she just has to grab it away from people and-"

"LOOK THERE'S MACDONALDS!!!" Nudge hollered, trying to drown out the rest of my sentence, "CAN WE LAND NOW, MAX?"

I chuckled quietly, and let Gazzy help me land.

We went in, shivering as a blast of fresh air hit us. At least, I shivered. I ordered first, asked Gazzy where the bathrooms were and excused myself.

I was coming out when I noticed the angry breaths coming form the left wall.

"Uh, hello?" I asked, stopping.

"Have I ever told you how much I hate you, Iggy?" Nudge's voice cut through the bustle of the morning rush.

I grinned, "Yes, in fact I think you mentioned it this morning."

"Good, just wanted to make sure." Nudge sniffed, "Because I really do, Iggy. It was just a hotdog for goshes sake."

"Goshes sake?" I asked, smirking.

"Grr," She growled, "Are you making fun of me?"

"No, no, of course not." I held my hands up defensively, "I would never do that to you, Nudgie-girl."

"Would you stop with that stupid nickname?!" I could tell she was glowering at me. I had thought up the brilliant name of Nudgie-girl a few days ago and had called Nudge that just for fun. When I had found out how much it annoyed her, I couldn't help but use it as often as possible.

"Now why would I want to do that?" I asked innocently, "It's really such a cute nickname. Totally suits you."

"Ugh!" I could just imagine Nudge throwing her hands up in the air in frustration.

"Wait a second. . . " Her voice suddenly turned confused, "Did you just call me cute?"

I blinked a few times, thinking back to what I had said. Oops, I kind of had called her cute.

"I do think you're cute," I said with a shrug, "I think it's cute that you pretend to get so upset when I use that nickname even though, secretly, you love it."

"What?!" Nudge yelped.

"And I think it's cute that you say you hate me even though we both know that's a bogus lie." I gave her a sweet smile.

"Iggy?" She asked softly.

"Yeah?" I responded, wondering what she'd say.

"I hope you accidentally fall off a cliff one day. And die." She added.

I blinked.

Then I burst out laughing.

And, though they were stifled and quiet, I could hear Nudge giggling with me.

.•*•.~.•*•.Nudge.•*•.~.•*•.

We were approaching Dr. Martinez's house. Only about two more hours of flying time, but we were so exhausted Max decided we should just spend one more night in the woods.

I looked down, then against my will, looked back at Iggy. His face looked troubled and deep in thought. I wondered if he was thinking about us.

There is no us, I snapped to myself, there is no us so stop thinking about the jerk that shall not be named!

These woods were pretty thin, the trees young and not as tall or thick. I could easily see through the treetops and up to the night sky. The stars shone brilliantly, and a half moon shined down on me and the rest of the flock, giving us an eerie silver shine.

I sighed, thinking about a time not so long ago when the moon was full and things weren't so complicated.

.•*•.~.•*•.flashback.•*•.~.•*•.

I couldn't sleep. No matter how much I tossed and turned and tried to get comfortable, I still didn't feel sleepy. I stayed awake all the way through Max's watch, through Fang's watch and now it was Iggy's turn.

I huffed in annoyance as another pebble poked my side and woke me up.

"You alright, Nudge?" Iggy whispered, sitting stock-still.

I shook my head but replied, "Yeah, fine."

Iggy didn't answer and for a second I thought he didn't hear me but instead he said quietly, "Want to talk?"

I hesitated in answering. Max had drilled in our heads never to get distracted when keeping watch, but. . . maybe it would be okay just this one time.

I stood up silently and made my way to where Iggy was sitting on a cold, flat rock. I sat next to him, huddling close for warmth.

"Can't sleep?" He murmured.

"I'm trying. But every time I close my eyes another thought rushes through my head and I cant get rid of it. Ugh, I wish I could turn my brain off." I muttered.

"Hmm." Iggy hummed, "Can I ask you a question, Nudge?"

I was taken slightly by surprise but just answered, "Sure."

"What. . . what do stars look like?" Iggy's voice was soft and serious.

I thought for a while, peering up at the beautiful night sky and finally answered, "They look like twinkling white dots. Picture a dark purple-ish blue. There are some darker, almost black patches, that's where the clouds are. Now sprinkle some white dots, and then add a huge, round, silver circle. The circle is the moon. It's a full moon tonight."

Iggy didn't answer for a long time, and when he did, his voice was so quiet it was hard to make sure I'd heard him correctly.

"Thank you, Nudge. No one's ever described something like that to me. I can almost see it. . . It's hard to remember what things used to look like. I think I'm forgetting."

I frowned, and a feeling of sorry for Iggy washed over me.

"I'll help you remember." I promised solemnly, "I'll describe everything in detail for you so you can remember."

In the moonlight, I could see a small smile slip over Iggy's face. His hand reached out and without thinking I grabbed it with mine. He turned to me and gave my hand a slight squeeze.

"Thanks, Nudgie-girl." He whispered.

And I didn't bother to get worked up over the nickname because Iggy was right. I secretly loved it when he called me that.

.•*•.~.•*•.Iggy.•*•.~.•*•.

We finally reached Dr. Martinez's house. I was glad because Max wasn't being grumpy and grouchy. She was too excited to still hate me for what happened yesterday.

"Mom!" Max yelled as we landed.

I heard a door fly open, an excited yell and then footsteps rushing toward us. I assumed it was the Doctor running to Max.

"Honey!" There were quiet shuffles as the two met together for a tight hug.

"OMG!" Another voice screeched, and I recognized it as Ella's, "MAX!"

"Ella!" More running as the three grouped together in another hug.

"Nudge!"

"Oof!" Went Nudge and I guessed that Ella had trapped her in a suffocating hug.

"Hey, Ella," I heard Nudge trying to breath and suppressed a smirk.

"Aw, Iggy dear!" Before I knew what was happening, arms were wrapping around me and hugging me like there was no tomorrow. But, unfortunately for the Doctor, there was.

"Hello." I said politely and pulled away. From somewhere farther away there was the sound of two over-joyous dogs barking ecstatically. Then . . . "Akila, my love!"

"Hi, Iggy!" Another person hugged me now, and I sighed in defeat. There was no stopping them.

"How's it going, Ella?" I asked, giving her a quick hug then also pulling away.

"It's really great! I can't believe you guys are finally here! Yay! We've been waiting for so long and we even cleaned the house for you!" Heavens, this girl could talk as much as Nudge.

I heard Max laugh, "You didn't have to do that."

"We made cookies too!" Squealed Ella.

"You did?! Where?! Tell me!!!" Running footsteps, then a door slamming shut. I guessed that Max had rushed into the house in her mad search for cookies.

"Come in, come in." Dr. Martinez invited us in, laughing lightly at Max's child-like behavior. I followed quietly, and stopped dead in my tracks when I smelt the sweet, chocolaty smell of. . . fresh, just-out-of-the-oven, home-made, chocolate chip cookies.

There is a God.

After a few minutes of scarfing down as many cookies as we could fit in our mouths, we finally calmed down enough to have a decent conversation. Max filled her mom in on what we were up to, Ella happily chatted with Max and the rest of us stayed quiet, not sure what to say. Even Nudge was uncharacteristically silent, though she was usually the one who was chatting back with Ella.

She's still mad at me, I thought guiltily, but then tried to push the feeling away.

"So the same bedroom plan as always, right?" The Doctor asked, "Max will sleep in Ella's room," Ella cut in with a little shriek of excitement, "Nudge and Angel will share a room and Fang, Iggy and Gazzy will share the second spare room."

"If you guys wanna go and unpack, you can do that." Ella said, "Then we'll all watch a movie together!"

I nodded, and listened for the rest of the flock's agreement. There were murmurs of 'yeah's and 'sure's and 'that be good'. I wondered why everyone was being so quiet. It was kind of unsettling not to have the reassuring yap-yap of Total trying to talk to Akila, the giggling of Angel and Nudge and . . . well, everything else.

I didn't need any help to go to our room, we stayed here so often I'd already memorized the whole layout of the house. I unpacked quickly and laid on my bed. Fang and Gazzy sensed that I didn't want to talk and left me alone.

I was trying to think of a plan. I needed to talk to Nudge, alone. But I knew Max would be keeping a close eye on us.

I gritted my teeth and found myself getting mad at Max. If only she hadn't come right then. . . if only she didn't have to make such a big deal about it. . . If only. . . If. . . Only. . .

.•*•.~.•*•.flashback.•*•.~.•*•.

For some reason, Nudge had woken up on the wrong side of the tree branch this morning. She was grumpy, and grouchy, and I really, really hope it wasn't me who got her this upset. It was just friendly teasing. . .

"Augh!" I heard Nudge let out an angry huff.

"Nudge, will you tell us what's wrong?" Max asked gently, for, oh I don't know, the billionth time or so.

"You wouldn't understand." Nudge grumbled, "I'm going for a walk."

"Okay, don't go too far, and be careful." Max said, acting the way she did back in the old days, even though now we were three years older and even more capable of taking care of ourselves.

I listened carefully for which direction she went in, and a few minutes later, I followed.

"You weren't supposed to follow me." Nudge muttered, and I let out a sigh of relief. I hadn't really been sure where I was going. Following Nudge's voice, I held out my hand anxiously, trying to find her. I felt pretty stupid to tell you the truth, and wondered if I looked stupid too.

Nudge grabbed my arm and pulled me to her. I smiled down at her.

"You alright?" I asked, cocking my head, hoping to seem thoughtful or something, "You're not mad at me, are you?"

"Huh?" Nudge's confused voice cut in, "Why would I be mad at you?"

I grinned, yes! It's not my fault!

"I just thought. . . " I didn't really want to remind her of why she should be mad at me, "Never mind. So what's wrong?"

Nudge let go of my arm, and I felt cloth rush against my hand as she turned away from me, "You wouldn't care."

"Of course I would care, Nudgie-girl." This time, I couldn't resist, and added her nickname. I waited for her response.

"No, you wouldn't. You'll just laugh at me when I tell you." Nudge said and I heard the anger seeping into her voice.

"Nudgie. . . I took a small step closer, and felt our bodies press together, With my arm I reached up, and, finding her strong jaw line, I cupped my hand around her chin and gently tipped her head up so she could see my expression.

"I would never laugh at you, Nudge." I whispered, feeling her sweet breath blow against my face. For some reason, my heart started beating a little faster, and my stomach did a little fluttery dance.

Then it struck me: I was nervous. I was nervous to be standing this close to Nudge. But why would I be-

"Okay, I'll tell you." Nudge said, "You know how we went into town yesterday?"

"Yeah?" I nodded.

"And the grocery store?"

"Uh-huh." I kept nodding.

"And the magazine rack?"

"What about it?" I wondered if she had read something bad.

"There was this article. . . "

I knew it, "What did it say?"

"It. . . It said that Brangelina split up." Nudge's voice sounded so sad, so disappointed that, without even thinking about it, I put my hands on her shoulders, pulled her even closer and hugged her for the second time this week. I couldn't help noticing how small her body was, how slim her waist was. She fit perfectly against me. . .

"Thanks for not laughing." Nudge sobbed softly.

"Umm. . . who are Brangelina?" I asked into her thick dark brown hair.

"Oh, they used to be my favorite celebrity couple. I just can't believe they split up." Nudge whispered into my neck, "It's so sad, cuz they were like perfect for each other. And they always seemed so happy. . . and then they decide to split up!"

Celebrity couple??

Nudge was upset because two people decided to break up??

I almost laughed for a second, it was just too ridiculous, but then I remembered how important this stuff was to Nudge. And if I laughed, Nudge would never trust me with anything else ever again.

"Oh." I muttered, "That's. . . too bad."

"You think?" Nudge's voice perked up a little, "So you don't think it's silly?"

I pulled away a bit, and gave Nudge a small grin.

"'Course not." I said easily.

"You're the best, Igs." She giggled and I felt arms slide around me and give me a short squeeze of a hug, then let go.

"I know." I said with a small shrug.

Nudge gently smacked my arm, "Come on, we better head back."

I waited for Nudge to grab my wrist, or the crook of my elbow to steer me back, and was surprised when I felt her intertwine her hand with mine.

I smiled.

This. . . this felt nice.

.•*•.~.•*•.Nudge.•*•.~.•*•.

"So, Nudge!" Ella stared at me, her eyes wide with excitement, "How has it been going? How is everyone?"

I forced a smile and said bubbly, "Oh, we're doing great! Total was like talking nonstop about seeing Akila, it's so cute! And, we ran into paparazzi a little while ago! It was so cool, Gazzy wanted to get an interview, but Max wouldn't let us . . ."

"Oooh, remember that time when your faces were all over the newspaper?" Ella said brightly.

"Yeah!" I grinned, "And wherever we went, people kept recognizing us and asking for our autographs! I felt like a movie star."

"Haha," Ella giggled, "So how has the flock been? How are Max and Fang?"

I laughed at Ella's over exaggerated wink.

"They're being much more couply. Heehee, Fang even kissed her in front of us the other day! You should've seen Max blush . . . it was so, so sweet," I smiled, remembering, "It was like that one time when Max suddenly leaped on Fang and began kissing him in that submarine thing."

"Ooooh, yeah, I heard about that." Ella's eyes twinkled, "And everyone else? Angel and Gazzy . . . and Iggy?"

Suddenly, I couldn't breath.

"Iggy?" I gasped weakly, everything rushing back again. I had actually managed to forget for a few minutes . . .

"Yeahhh." She giggled, "He looks so different. Oh, I just love his eyes! And his hair . . ."

"Wait, wait!" I cried, "Since when do you like Iggy?"

"Since today when I hugged him and he . . ." her face broke out into a huge grin, "He sighed!"

I wanted to throw up.

"Oh." I whispered, then forced a smile, "Wow, weird."

"I know! And he's soooo hot!" Ella laughed and I forced a laugh.

"Oh- uh, do you think Max would mind?" She stopped laughing, "I mean, we are like two years apart . . . but that's not like that much! Right? Ugh, he's sooo cute!" Ella plopped back on the bed, "I already have a crush on him and it's only been like thirty minutes!"

"Yeah." I muttered, "Well, I don't know about Max-"

"Do you think you could ask her for me," She gave me a hopeful look, "Please, please, Nudge?"

"Um, you should probably talk to her about it," I said, wanting for a second to just tell her Max would never say yes, but . . . oh, god, I didn't want her to know . . . And if she asked her, Max would surely tell her about Iggy and I . . . . why did this have to be so complicated?!

"Oh, Nudge, please?" Ella pleaded.

I felt like crying.

Because, it was time for full confession: I still liked Iggy.

A lot.

And no matter how much he hurt my feelings, I still . . . I guess I thought he would apologize and Max would magically agree, and then everything would be alright.

My mouth trembled, but I refused the tears to fall.

Taking in a deep breath, I put on my best game face and said smoothly, "Sorries, hun, you'll have to talk to her about it. I'm gonna get a snack."

I stood up and quietly left the room.

.•*•.~.•*•.~.•*•.~.•*•.

I stared at Iggy. Of course he's ion the kitchen! Stupid, stupid, stupid!

"Nudge?" He whispered.

I refused to answer him, and started to walk out back.

"Nudge, if it is you, then I'm really sorry."

That stopped me. I cursed under my breath, and sighed heavily. I turned back to him.

"You know how much Max yelled at me?" I whispered furiously, "She thinks it's all my fault, and that it was this sudden, random thing between us. But it's been going on for the last two weeks, right?" I hesitated, thinking of Ella and what she had said, ". . . right?"

Iggy nodded, and said softly, with a small smile, "Yeah."

I loved Iggy's smile.

"I don't know Iggy. No one is the flock has like barely talked to me at all since, you know, and . . . maybe they all hate us for this . . . I mean, Max and Fang dating is one thing, but us, maybe it's just too weird." I forced the words out, purposefully leaving Ella out. I still remembered how he had smiled when I mentioned her name that one time. Maybe it was a small thing, but if it turned out he liked her better . . . I know it's pathetic but I just wanted to make sure.

"Does this feel weird to you, Nudgie-girl?" He whispered, closing the space between us and resting his hand on my hip, "Because to me, it's anything but."

I swallowed hard, "You ran away . . ."

"I know. I'm sorry. I didn't know what to do, I guess I just freaked out." He looked ashamed, "It definitely wont happen again."

"I thought," I bit my lip, "I thought that you thought it was a mistake. I thought that maybe I was reading it all wrong and you didn't like me after all."

"Oh, Nudge." He sighed, stroking my cheek softly. I closed my eyes and let the feeling of Iggy's rough, but gentle fingers on my skin settle my my doubts.

Footsteps. But before we could pull away-

"Hey, have you guys seen-" Gazzy cut off, staring at us, his face startled and shocked.

Iggy leapt away from me and my heart sank.

"Oh, yo, what's up Gasman?" Iggy said, trying to sound casual.

"Uhh . . . why were you holding Nudge?" Gazzy looked creped out. Iggy tried to stutter out an answer, but I cut in.

"I don't know Gazzy," My voice was sweet and innocent, "Maybe he's just being a heartless jerk-creep, and between you and me, I think he should just get lost."

Gazzy stared at me with wide, confused eyes, "Huh?"

"Nudge, don't be that way . . ." Iggy cringed, "You know we can't . . . you know . . . in front of them . . . not yet . . . first we have to-"

"Whatever, Ig." I brushed him off, "Well, catch ya later, Gazzy."

Gazzy, still dumbfounded, just nodded, and I quickly rushed outside before Iggy could try to go after me.

Of course, I thought bitterly to myself, when we're alone he's all, "yay us!" but as soon as someone interrupts us, it's like, "what?! Me and Nudge? Ha- as if!"

I decided that was it. I'd had enough of his games. Ella wanted Iggy? Fine. Have Iggy. I don't give a damn.

ALL FLASHBACKS!!!

.•*•.~.•*•.Iggy.•*•.~.•*•.

"And you've got a smile that could light up this whole town." Nudge sang clearly, and I could hear the smile in her voice, could detect the tinge of fondness in her tone.

I sat absolutely still and listened carefully.

She stopped singing, and all I could make out was a low hum as she mumbled the lyrics, the beat rising and going down as the song went on.

"Dreaming 'bout the day," She belted out, "When you wake up and find that what you're looking for has been here the whole time! If you could see that I'm the one who understands you, been here all along so why can't you se-e-e, you belong with me-e-e."

I smiled. Nudge's voice was sweet and clear and filled up the air.

She went back to humming, and I waited patiently.

"All this time how could you not know baby-y-y, you belong with me-e-e, you belong with me." She sang softly, "Ohh, da-di-da-di-da. . . Mmm-hm-mmm-hmm, I'm the one who maked you laugh, when you know you're 'bout to cry. And I know your favorite songs, and you tell me 'bout your dreams. Think I'll know where you belong-" She took a gasp of air, "think I know it's with me-e-e!"

"Can't you see that I'm the one who understands you." Her voice went high and whispery, "Been here all along, so why can't you see-e-e, you belong with me-e-e, you belong wih me."

I bit my lip, and kept my breathing steady, desperate to hear more of Nudge's words, more of her soft singing voice that cut through the stale air and punctured right into me.

"Have you ever thought just maybe-e-e, you belong with me." She sighed, and I faintly heard her take a deep, shuddery breath.

It was at that moment when I realized why Nudge's singing had gotten to me. She had sung with so much emotion, as if. . . As if she understood what the person in the song was going through, as if she was going through it too.

I quietly stood up and cautiously walked up to her.

"Hey." I whispered.

"Iggy!" She shrieked and I jumped back in surprise.

"What?!" I yelled frantically.

"Iggy-you-I. . . You scared me." She muttered, and I noticed a slight hesitation, "Were you listening to me sing?"

"Yeah." I admitted freely, "Catchy song."

"Oh. Yeah, it is." She seemed slightly nervous, but also a little annoyed, "Next time you can just ask to borrow the iPod or something. Stalker."

I chuckled, "Just curious to what this song you've been annoying us with the past few days is all about."

"It is not annoying! It's pretty, and sweet, and sad and happy! Well, the song is kinda sad because Taylor is pinning away for a guy who'll never love her back, but in the music video, the guy actually-"

"Nudge." I cut in, "As interesting as all this is. . . I didn't come here to find out about this Tyler, or Taylor person in love or whatever, I came to tell you dinner's ready."

"Oh." Nudge said, and I didn't miss the trickle of disappointment, "Um, yeah, kay."

I cursed my guilty conscious, and sighed tiredly, "But if you want to tell me more about this Tyler guy then go ahead."

"It's Taylor!" Nudge instantly corrected, "She's a girl!"

I felt like rolling my eyes, but just held on to Nudge's wrist while she went on about some country singer that to be honest with you- I had already heard about.

I just wanted to annoy Nudge a little.

.•*•.~.•*•.Nudge.•*•.~.•*•.

Owww, I moaned in my head. My stomach ached, and I bit my lip hard to hide my pain.

"Nudge?" Max called, concern in her face.

"I-I'm fi-fine." I called, gasping as pain wrecked through my body.

Damn, how did I manage to fly into that tree? I cursed in my head.

"Ouch, sounds bad." Iggy said, crowding around me with the rest of the flock. I grimaced.

"It's fi-"

"Iggy, you better check her over." Max cut in, "I think there's a little stream behind those trees on your right. You can wash out any cuts."

"Come on, Nudge." Iggy reached for my hand.

I nodded, giving up on the whole 'I'm good' thing, because truly, I wasn't good. My stomach hurt like crap and- shit. Blood. Seeping through my shirt.

I stood up slowly, wincing slightly. I took Iggy's hand and led him to the stream.

"Lay down." He instructed.

I sighed, and gingerly laid down. I was surprised when I realized it wasn't so painful anymore.

He positioned himself leaning over me, his eyes closed, face concentrated as he reached out an rested his hands on my stomach. Fingers ran feather-light over my shirt, and I barely felt anything.

"Does this hurt?" He asked, pressing down slightly on the side of my stomach, between two rib bones.

"No." I said softly.

He paused for a second, fingers hovering over my shirt. I waited, my breath still. He pulled my shirt up, and I let out a gasp.

Of course he has to pull your shirt up, I hissed to myself in my head.

"Oh! Sorry, did I-"

"No, no, I just . . ." I bit my lip and muttered, "Wasn't expecting that, I guess."

His brow furrowed, his expression confused.

"Never mind." I mumbled, and glanced down. There was a deep gash only a few inches from where Iggy's finger were resting. The blood was already covering his fingers, and staining my jeans.

"Okay." He answered, and started to run his hands down further, lightly grazing my cut. Upon finding my wound, he sucked air through his teeth, his eyes flying open.

"How bad is it?" I asked, suddenly feeling very worried by the surprised look on his face.

"Um." He bit his lip, pressing lightly against the cut.

I chocked back a cry.

"Did that hurt?" He asked.

"Maybe!" I hissed, squirming away from his touch a little.

"Sorry." He murmured, but still didn't pull away, "How about this?"

He pressed against the side of my wound, against the skin around it. I shook my head, "Not really."

"Alright," He frowned, "Your cut seems really deep, I'll need to bandage it. You'll probably have a nice sized bruise there too, in a few days."

He pulled away and rinsed his hands in the water. Rummaging through his backpack, he quickly found gouze and set to work.

"Can you sit up?" He asked, unraveling the soft cloth.

I took a deep breath and slowly sat up. Not too bad, I thought, relieved.

"Kay," He made his way back to me, holding one end of the gauze against my skin and carefully wrapping it around my waist. His rough, scarred fingertips grazed my lower back, and I felt my muscles tense involuntarily. Slowly, guiding his hands around my waist, reaching my stomach and running over my bellybutton. My breath hitched and I struggled to breath normally. Iggy's head was bent down, mere inches away from my face. His arms encircled me as he wrapped the bandage around a second time. It suddenly felt hot, and I knew my face was flushed. I could almost see the sparks jumping back and forth from our bodies, could almost hear the tiny voice telling me to kiss him, to pull him closer, to bring his lips to mine. I sucked my stomach in and breathed in deeply.

"Am I hurting you?" Iggy paused for a second and tipped his head up, and suddenly I was face to face, brown eyes staring at blue, our lips centimeters away-

Iggy quickly pulled back a little, a light flush spreading across his cheeks. I felt my own face warm.

"Um, n-no," I stammered, "It's all. . . good. Everything's good, it doesn't even hurt that much anymore, so that's a good thing right? Yep. It's good."

"Good." He gave me a small smile and went back to his work. But the spell was broken, the intimacy was gone, and Iggy was done.

"Thanks." I said, hopping off the stone.

He nodded, and said in a teasing voice, "So it's all good?"

I couldn't help grinning, and shoved him, "Shut up."

"I'll take that as a yes." He said, and followed me back to the flock.

.•*•.~.•*•.Nudge.•*•.~.•*•.

I loved my new haircut. It was. . . Like totally awesome. Since my birthday was in a week, I decided to get a new haircut, I wanted to look nice.

Anyway, my hair used to be about shoulder length, thick and unruly. But I got it cut really short, into a bob. Haha! I also got these amazing side-bangs, which start our really short near my eyebrows, but are cut in a slant so by the time they reached my chin, they were the same length as the rest of my hair.

I ran my hands through my now glossy, and soft hair and giggled.

Gazzy sighed.

"But doesn't it looks a-mazin'?" I asked again, grinning broadly.

"Nuuuudge," Gazzy moaned, "Pleeease, my ears cant take it anymore! Shut your piehole!"

I frowned, "You're just jealous."

"Nudge!" Max cried, "We get it! Your haircut is amazing! Okay. How exciting."

I felt slightly hurt by the sarcasm that was dripping from Max's words, but well. . . I guess I had been going on about it for a while. . .

"Whateves." I stood up from my seat on a boulder. I grinned as my hair fell in my eyes. Seriously, best haircut ever!

I walked over to where Iggy was preparing dinner, behind a couple trees and a few yards away so we wouldn't have to deal with the smoke from the fire.

"Hey Igs." I said casually.

"Oh no," He groaned, "Is it my turn to for the Nudge Channel torture?"

"Shut up." I said easily, knowing he was just teasing.

He grinned, "I have a feeling I'll be the one saying that in a few minutes."

"Hey!" I yelled, "You're just jealous. Because. . . Because my hair is freaking amazing and yours is. . ." I stopped, his hair was just as cool as mine.

"Okay, I've had enough of this." Iggy stopped stirring the big pot and turned to me, "Come here."

"Huh?" I blinked, confused, but took a few steps forward.

"Let me see." He murmured, and lifted his hands up to my shoulders.

"See?" I asked, then realized, "Oh. . . Kay."

He nodded, and slid his fingers over to my neck, then around the back of my neck, pulling me even closer.

"Um, Iggy?" I asked, confused at the disappearing space between us.

"One sec." He whispered, his hot breath blowing against my cheeks. My stomach twisted, and my heart pounded. I stayed stock-still ad he ran his fingers through my hair, massaging my scalp gently, tickling the back of my neck.

I swallowed hard.

It's just Iggy, I whispered in my head, he just wants to feel your new haircut that you've been talking nonstop about. Why are you acting like this?! Nothing is going on!

He tugged on my bangs, a small smile stretching across his lips. His lips. . .

Stop staring at his lips!

"Dude, this is cool." He said, nodding in approval.

"Thanks." My voice sounded as if I were underwater.

Then he did something I would never in a million years see coming.

He lifted a chunk of my hair up to his nose and took a deep breath.

My eyes widened as I watched his own eyes flutter close, and a dreamy look flit across his face.

Iggy was. . . sniffing my hair.

My twist in my stomach exploded, and a warm fuzzy feeling rushed through me.

"You smell. . . good." He said softly.

I nodded silently, and I could tell he had felt the vibrations from my head to my hair because a slow grin spread on his face.

"Really good." He said in his regular voice, "Hey, Nudge?"

I nodded again, afraid my voice would crack if I said anything out loud.

He smirked, "How come your heart is beating twice as fast right now?"

I froze.

"And. . . " He moved his fingers over my face, fingers light across my skin, making my insides sizzle, "How come you're blushing?"

My breath caught in my throat.

"And how come-"

I found my voice, "I'm just hot!" I took a hasty step back, "In case you didn't notice, it's freaking hot today, and-and well, yeah!"

He chuckled, "Has anyone ever told you that you are a horrible liar?"

I scowled, and smacked his arm, "I am NOT a bad liar- and I'm not lying!"

He shook his head, "It's also cute when you pretend you aren't secretly crushing on me."

I chocked on my own breath, and had to recover for a few seconds before I managed to gasp out, "W-what?!"

"Don't worry," He gave me a coy wink, "It'll be our little secret."

"What the crap?!" I yelped, "I do NOT-"

"Iggy!" Max called, and I heard rustling, "Is dinner ready?"

"Few more minutes!" Iggy yelled back and gave me a small grin, "Like I said, our secret."

I punched his arm.

Hard.

Sooo, yeah, and things were just getting good. *sad smile* Bye again, I'll miss all of you, and hey, special shout out to Stripedpolkadots because she is totally cool and I loved her reviews! (even tho it's only been like two chapters . . .)

Anyway . . . This is really good bye, and I wont be on FF anymore, and I am permanently not using this account anymore. I will NOT delete ANY OF MY STORIES, everything will be kept up incase you eevr feel like re-reading aaaaaand-*deep breath*

Good bye.

!~PeruvainChick~!