Iggy x Ella Drabbles by SkyBlueTattoo

EDIT: I am sorry to anyone who is following this story, but it has temporarily been put on hiatus. My life has become too hectic and I can't keep up with my writing, so, unfortunately, I will not be able to update as often as I want to. I will continue this story, I just don't know how soon, so don't expect any updates in the near future. I apologize for any inconvenience.

Authors note: Okay, so this is basically just a bunch of Iggy x Ella ideas that I had that I turned into one cohesive story… well, at least I hope it's cohesive. *nervous laugh* It's not exactly drabbles, because the chapters are pretty long… I'm not really sure what to call them.

This is also my first multi-chapter fan fiction that I didn't totally plan to the max (no pun intended). So, I'm not so sure about the update date, some chapters might be up super fast, while others take ages, but I'll try not to leave you hanging for too long. So, I will probably be updating on the weekends more than anything. Oh, and my beta hasn't gotten a chance to look at this yet, so it might be a little messy, I mostly just wanted to get this out here so I could get some feedback.

Anyway, this takes place after the third book, and before the fourth, so none of them have any extra powers. This is supposed to be romance/humor, but somehow it has an awful lot of angst in it. Don't ask me how it got there, I really don't know. The first chapter is definitely not the best, and probably my least favorite. I have trouble starting stories, so the first one or two chapters might not be up to my standard, but they will get better, so don't worry.

Oh yeah, and I know I make the younger members of the flock sound like little kids in here, I really hate that I do that, but I'm not doing it on purpose. I've written other fan fictions where they are very mature and the story centers around them, but for some reason when they are not the main characters they automatically become less mature, and they all suddenly become kids. But, remember that Angel and Gazzy really are only little kids, and Nudge is only eleven, so when they have someplace safe to stay, like Dr. M's, they may be able to relax and act more like kids.

Oh, also, I am changing one thing that doesn't go according to the original story. In my story Ella is the same age as Max, Fang, and Iggy, so, she's fourteen instead of twelve. Because, I think I would have a hard time writing a twelve year old this mature, plus it wouldn't be believable. And is it just me, or is twelve way too young to be in this serious of a relationship? I dunno, maybe I was just a very innocent kid.

This takes place on a Saturday morning. Ella was hanging out with her friends, and she just got home.

Oh, and sorry for having such a long authors note. They shouldn't be so long anymore because I got most of the vital info out there. Thank you for reading this far! (And if you haven't, go back and read the authors note)

Disclaimer: I do not own Maximum Ride, or any of its wonderful characters, everything belongs to the brilliant, James Patterson.

Chapter One: I'm not crying, it's just the onions.

"Okay, bye!" Iggy heard Ella's tinkling laugh and the front door slam.

Footsteps came running down the hall, thumping rhythmically.

"Mom, I'm home!" He heard Ella stop at the doorway to the kitchen.

"Oh, hi Iggy, where is everybody? "

Iggy was currently chopping onions. He didn't even look up as he heard her walk in and sit down at the dining room table.

"I think they went shopping for some new clothes. Ours tend to get pretty worn out when we're on the run. They said they'd be back in a few hours, though. "

Chink, chink, chink.

Iggy counted the slices, knowing exactly when to turn the onion slightly, making it easier to chop.

"Oh, okay, looks like it's just you and me for a while." He heard her stand up and walk over to him. He heard her hair swish slightly as she leaned down to see what he was doing. He could smell her shampoo; it was scented with some type of citrus smell.

"What are you doing?" She made a sound that sounded like 'few', "It stinks to high heaven."

"I'm cutting onions. What does it look like I'm doing? Arranging flowers?"

She laughed again, that same high, sparkling sound.

"No, silly, I know what you're doing, what I meant was why are you doing it?"

"Oh, I'm going to use them in some onion soup I've been experimenting on," he explained, "I barely get a chance to be in the kitchen so I'm taking advantage of everyone being gone to prep the veggies. Even if I don't get around to the soup today, I can at least have the vegetables ready." Iggy hadn't even noticed the smile that had come onto his face as he talked about his cooking.

"Eh," Ella made a surprised little sound, "oh no, I'm crying, must be the onions." He heard her walk over to the other side of the kitchen.

"Oh drat, I hate onions," he heard her wipe her eyes with something, it sounded like a tissue.

"Really?" He asked, surprised. "You don't like onions? Even in, like, onion rings?"

She giggled, "Yeah, I don't like onions, never have. Even when I was little I wouldn't eat them, not even in onion rings. I would pull the onions out, just eat the outside."

He grinned, "Yeah, that's what Angel does. She says onions are 'yucky'." He stopped chopping for a moment and made quotation marks in the air.

"Ha ha, I can see her doing that. So you like onions then?"

"Yup, love em. They keep the mosquitoes away you know. Best thing you can eat to get rid of them."

"Really?" She asked.

"Oh yeah, onions and garlic, mosquitoes hate them, so if you have enough in your bloodstream they'll try to find someone else to bite."

"Huh, I never knew that. No wonder I'm always getting bitten." She laughed again, and walked over to the fridge, the door swinging open with a slight squeak.

"I guess I just never liked them because they make my eyes water so badly. Don't you hate that?"

"It's never happened to me before. Hey would you hand me those leeks," he asked putting his hand out in her direction.

"Sure," she tossed the leeks over, and he caught them perfectly. "Never? How's that possible?" She got something else out of the fridge and closed the door.

"It's probably because I'm blind," he said bluntly, not really thinking about it.

She winced, "Oh, yeah, I forgot." She gasped, "I mean, I didn't forget exactly, it's just, um, you act so normal that I—not to say that being blind isn't normal, I just…" she trailed off, and Iggy guessed she was blushing.

But he laughed instead of being angry.

"Relax, just treat me like you would anyone else, I'll ask if I need something special." He unwrapped the leeks, and started to chop them in half.

"R-really?"

"Yeah, there's no reason to tiptoe around it, you're not going to offend me, so don't worry." He ran the leeks under cold water, getting rid of all the dirt.

"Kay, sorry." He heard her hair swish as she tilted her head down slightly.

"There's no reason to apologize, and stop pouting over there, you're bumming me out."

"How could you tell I was pouting?" She asked, surprised.

"Your hair swished when you bent your head, and I heard you sigh, things like that let me know what you're doing." He put the leeks down on the cutting board and began to chop them into little half moons.

"You heard that?"

"Yeah, easy. I have better hearing than most."

"How much better?"

"Your neighbor two doors down is mowing his lawn."

"What?" She asked. That was probably not the answer she had expected.

"Go check."

"Uh," she seemed surprised but she went to the front door, he heard her open it and look out.

"Oh my gosh, he is! How on earth did you hear that?" She asked running back into the kitchen, her socks sliding on the floor slightly.

He chuckled, "Like I said, I have better hearing than most."

"Wow," she fell silent for a moment, as if thinking, "but wait, wouldn't that get distracting? Or overwhelming?"

"Yeah, it does, but I can tune it out most of the time." He frowned, "It does get overwhelming when I go to crowded places though, like concerts and malls and such." He put the leek he had cut in a baggy and started cutting another one.

"Oh, wow." She seemed slightly dazed, "That's like," she paused, "like some type of super power or something!"

He turned to her slightly, a surprised look on his face.

"You, you," he choked, and started laughing. Clutching his sides, he broke out into deep, full throated laughter.

"W-what?" She asked, the fabric of her shirt wrinkled as she put her hands on her hips, "What's so funny?" She asked again, her heart speeding up with the slight embarrassment.

"You just sounded so amazed," he stopped laughing enough so he could talk, wiping his eyes.

"Super hearing," he shook his head, still laughing slightly, "The things you come up with."

"What?" She asked slightly heatedly, "I think it's cool! I mean, how many guys do you know who can hear somebody eating a peanut butter sandwich a mile away?"

"No one, that's impossible."

"You know what I meant!"

"Actually I didn't, what did you mean?" He asked, teasing her.

"Ah!" She threw her arms up into the air, "I give up!"

He just chuckled to himself, resuming his chopping.

"Well, I think it's cool," she said softly, almost to herself.

"But," Iggy sounded almost hesitant, "don't you think being blind kind of cancels it out?" He asked, not taking his eyes off of the cutting board in front of him. Not that it made much difference.

Ella's POV

"Hmm," I paused, thinking, "No, I don't think so. I mean, in terms of coolness I don't think it really affects much. It's kind of something unique that not many people have. Plus, it makes people feel more comfortable around you; well at least I know I do. I never have to worry about what I'm wearing, or if my hair is sticking up funny, or if I accidentally spill water down my shirt and it makes me look stupid. I know that you're judging me on me, not my outward appearance."

"Uh!" I blushed, "I mean, that's just my opinion. I don't really know, I mean, I do feel more comfortable around you, but not in a weird way or anything. I just, uh, think you're really nice and stuff, and, uh"—

But I stopped when I saw Iggy's lips twitch, curling up slightly into a smile while he chopped the leeks.

I tucked my hands behind my back, feeling uncomfortable.

"You're funny, you know that?" He finished chopping the leeks and put both the leeks and the onions in the refrigerator.

"I, I am?" I stuttered, slightly surprised. How was I funny? In a good way, or a bad way?

"You kind of remind me of Max," He pulled out a bowl of cookie dough he had made the night before, "Only, you're not so harsh, or crazy, or bossy, or always ranting about what a sexist pig I am." He scowled as he got out a cookie sheet.

"You're a sexist pig?" This was news to me.

He chuckled, "That's debatable."

"Well, I still don't get it, how am I funny?" I walked over to him, and helped him scoop the cookie dough into balls.

"Well, for example, what you're doing right now, biting your lip like that, that's something Max would do when she's nervous or thinking. You also seem to think a lot like Max, only, at the same time, you think in a completely different way than Max would. You just keep surprising me; that's all."

I fingered my lip absently, how could he tell I had been biting my lip? Was he really paying attention so well that he could hear that?

"To tell you the truth I wasn't really sure what to expect," he went on, "you being Max's sister and all," he laughed, "I sure didn't expect you, that for sure."

"You didn't?" Was there something wrong with me?

"No, not at all," he shook his head, "in fact, I'm not sure who I expected. Maybe some big tough gal, who rode a motor bike and had a crowbar, or maybe some super genius or something, I just didn't expect someone so… normal."

"Oh," I said as my heart sunk slightly, someone so normal huh? More like boring.

"Huh?" He turned slightly even though he couldn't see me, "What's with that tone of voice? I didn't mean it in a bad way."

"You didn't?" I was surprised, what other way could he have meant?

He sighed, "Go sit down and I'll explain it to you, just let me put these in the oven." He put the chocolate chip cookies in the oven, and set the timer.

"Explain what?" I asked, sitting down at the table.

"Okay, look," he said as he sat down next to me, "We, the Flock, have never been normal, not even the day we were born. So, to us, being normal has always been a really sought after thing, for me especially, I've always wanted to be normal, or at least to be able to be with normal people without feeling like such a freak. So, when I said I was surprised you were so normal, I meant that as I good thing. I never expected to hang out with anyone as nice, and sweet, and modest, and normal as you," he wrinkled his nose, "especially since you're Max's sister." Suddenly he blushed slightly, as if just realizing what he had just said.

"O-oh," I blushed too, glad he couldn't see. "Thanks Iggy, that's… that's really sweet." I smiled at him, and then remembering I said, "I'm smiling at you."

He coughed slightly, and he blushed a little deeper, but he remained silent.

"Hey, Iggy can I ask you a question?" I didn't want to be rude, but this had been nagging at me for a while.

"Ask away," he seemed glad to end the awkward silence.

"Well, this may be a little rude, but you said that I shouldn't worry so much, and you did say that I wouldn't offend you, but"—

"Ella," he said patiently, "just ask me the question."

"Right, right, ask you the question," I took a deep breath, "How did you become blind?"

"Ah, that," he sighed again, leaning back in his chair, "I was wondering when you were going to ask me that."

"You knew I was going to ask?" Was he psychic too?

"Yeah, of course, you had to ask at some point."

"Well, it's just that you talked about colors so…" I trailed off, should I just drop it? He didn't look like he wanted to talk about it.

"Yeah, I wasn't born blind." He paused, his eyes glazed over, as if he was remembering something.

He smiled grimly, "You want to know how I became blind?" I nodded, but of course he couldn't see, "I'll tell you how. They tried to enhance my eyes. Apparently they wanted to see if they could make someone with the same vision as a hawk. Can you imagine? Instead of being blind I could have been able to see a mouse a hundred feet below me." He sounded so bitter, so angry.

I didn't even notice that I was holding my hands in my lap nervously and that I had leaned forward slightly, listening intently.

"I barely remember anything from those days, just the pain, and the misery. But I do remember colors, not very many mind you, but enough. I remember the stark white of the walls, and the rich chocolate brown of the Erasers fur when they morphed, but the thing I remember most of all was the sky. Every time they would let us get near a window we would all scramble over to it, our eyes filled with wonder as we stared up at the sky; the sky, with its big puffy white clouds, and its vast blue, seeming to go on forever." He closed his eyes, a gentle smile playing across his lips, as if he was remembering, remembering the sky.

"My very last memory in color was a very simple one. I was just sitting in my cage, pretty comfortable, well as comfortable as you can be in a cage. I remember looking around, Max was sleeping, Fang was resting his eyes, but I could tell he wasn't really asleep. We hadn't been introduced to the others yet so it was just the three of us," His smile grew slightly, "the three amigos as we liked to call ourselves. I remember some things very clearly that night, like the expression on Max's face, so peaceful and calm, a rare sight, and the color of Fangs wings, so deep and dark and rich." His eyes had been closed all this time, the smile growing even brighter as he spoke. But it soon fell off his face, and he opened his eyes, looking at the table with a cold, hateful gaze.

"They came for me in the early hours of the morning, I was still asleep. When I finally woke up, all I could see was black. I freaked out, yelling and screaming, I tried to touch my face but it was covered in bandages. Two Erasers held me back from ripping them off as a scientist told me that they had performed an experimental surgery. It had failed." His gaze hardened, and his lips twisted into a bitter smirk, "they told me I 'had a chance at getting my eye sight back'. They weren't sure if it was really gone. They said that if my eyes healed then I might be able to see again."

"Every single night I prayed that my eyes would heal, that I would be able to see again. That I would be able to see Max's face again, that I would be able to see Fangs wings again, that I would be able to see the sky, even one more time."

"I really thought I would get my eye sight back, I thought that if I wished hard enough, prayed hard enough, I could get it back. I remember sitting on a table, waiting for them to take the bandages off, I was so nervous, but also excited. I remember the sound of the scissors tearing through the cloth, the soft crumpling sound the made as they hit the floor. I remember the scientist telling me I could open my eyes." A small tear rolled down Iggys cheek, but he didn't seem to notice, "I remember sitting there, eyes closed, the anticipation and excitement gnawing at me, and then… and then, I opened my eyes."

"All I saw, all I've ever seen since then… is black."

I felt my heart beating loudly in my chest, and some small part of my brain registered that my cheeks were wet, I had been crying. But in that moment none of that mattered, all that mattered was the boy sitting in front of me. The boy sitting there, his eyes filled with pain.

"I-Iggy!" I cried, standing up I leaned across the corner of the table that separated us and threw my arms around him.

Iggy's POV

"I-Iggy!" Iggy heard Ella's chair scrape against the floor and the next thing he knew he felt her arms around him.

W-why? He thought, eyes wide, why is she hugging me?

She was so close. He could feel her warm body against his, feel her chest rising up and down as she breathed, feel her heart thudding in her chest. He felt her soft hair, brushing against his cheek. And, oh, he could smell her! She smelled amazing, like nothing he had ever smelled before, she smelled like flour, pencil shavings, and library books. She smelled of warm sunny days, and of butterflies and grass. She smelled of so many things, all of them wonderful, and none of them going together.

"Oh, Iggy," she sobbed into his shirt. Wait, she was crying? Why? Had he done something to upset her?

"Oh, Iggy, I," she sniffled, "I know what happened to you was terrible. More terrible than anything I've ever heard of, but it's okay now, it's okay because you have a place to be, a place where you belong. We want you to stay, to be part of our family. You don't need your eyes here, we'll be your eyes, I'll be your eyes. We want you to stay, I want you to stay!" She sobbed even harder, soaking through his t-shirt, "So please, please stay?"

His eyes widened even further, and his mouth opened slightly. What did this mean? What was going on?

He blinked several times, surprised.

"I," he wasn't sure what to say.

"I never had the intention of leaving, you know?" he said, slowly wrapping his arms around her, a small, tender smile finding its way onto his face. He patted her hair, making small shushing noises.

"It's okay, don't worry, I won't leave, I'll stay here," and then in an even softer voice he said, "I'll stay here, with you."

He wasn't sure what was going on, or what this strange feeling in his chest was, but there was one thing he knew for sure. He knew that he wanted Ella to be happy. He wanted her to be happy for as long as possible. And if this made her happy, than he would stay like this forever.

Ella's POV

"I'll stay here, with you."

My eyes widened and my heart started to beat faster. Suddenly I realized what I was doing, I was hugging Iggy! I mentally flipped for a minute, but then I calmed down when I realized he was hugging me back. I was hugging Iggy, and he was hugging me back!

Iggy, I thought, smiling slightly. He was holding me tightly, but still gently, and he was making small shushing sounds, as if trying to calm me down. He had his head resting on top of mine, and he was rubbing my back soothingly.

I closed my eyes and took a deep breath, just now realizing how good he smelled. I could also feel his heart beating. It was so rhythmic and steady, I almost felt like I was going to fall asleep. Well, that is if the corner of the table hadn't been jutting into my stomach.

We were kind of at an odd angle. He was sitting, and I had gotten up slightly when I had flung myself at him. Oh, no, did I really fling myself at him? Talk about embarrassing! Anyway, we had been sitting at the corner of the table, so it wasn't really in the way, but it was still poking me in a rather annoying way. I was also now kind of sitting on the edge of my chair, but the rest of my body was in Iggy's arms. I suppose I should feel rather odd, being in a boy's arms I barely knew, but I didn't. It felt good, it felt right, like I belonged there. Which is odd isn't it?

I know we should probably move, I mean, we've been sitting like this for a few minutes, but for some reason I don't want to. It was like we were having one of those moments they always have in movies, where the romantic music is playing in the back ground, and the main characters have those dreamy expressions on their faces. Did I have a dreamy expression on my face? Hmm, maybe I did, who knows? But I did know I didn't want to move, I didn't want to brake the moment, our moment—

The front door slammed open, "We're home! Ooh, is that chocolate chip cookies I smell?"

Max's voice broke me out of my trance. Oh my god! What would everyone think if they saw this?

I leaped back, falling over my chair with a crash. Iggy, seemed just as startled, but he quickly got up to help me up.

"What was that?" I heard Max's worried voice come from down the hall, her footsteps picking up pace.

"Er, nothing, just me being clumsy!" I said as Iggy helped me up. I quickly backed away from him, and wiped my eyes. He picked my chair back up just as Max walked in.

"What happened?" She asked, looking from me to Iggy.

"Oh, nothing, I just tripped over a chair." I waved my hands in the air, as if trying to make it go away, "It was no big deal."

"A chair?" Max asked, eyes wide, "How do you trip over a chair?"

"Oh, if there's a way, Ella will find it, she's the clumsiest person I've ever met." I heard my mom laugh as she walked into the kitchen, putting some grocery bags down on the counter.

Iggy had taken the cookies out of the over, and the smell was starting to waft through the house.

"So how did you trip over a chair?"

"Uh, I just did, I walked in and, bang, I tripped," I smiled sheepishly at her.

"Wow, I"—

"Do I smell cookies?!" The Gasman's unmistakable voice rang through the house, followed my several other shouts of 'cookies?! Where?!'

Soon all the kids ran in, followed by a disgruntled looking Fang. They dropped their bags of clothes in the living room before running into the kitchen.

"I knew it, I did smell cookies!" Gazzy shouted, running up to Iggy, who was putting them on a tray to cool.

"Hey there little guy, be careful they're hot." Iggy warned.

"Yeah, you guys be careful," Max shouted over the din. How did it suddenly become so noisy?

Out of the corner of my eye I saw Fang follow the kids into the kitchen. He looked at all the kids, groaned, and walked over to Iggy.

"Hey," Fang said to Iggy, looking exhausted, "do you have any idea how awful that was?" He seemed to have a permanent scowl on his face.

Iggy grinned, "That bad eh?"

"You have no idea." Fang picked up a cookie, biting into it angrily.

Max walked back over to me when she had gotten the kids to quiet down slightly.

She sighed, and then looked at me, frowning slightly.

"Hey, have you been crying?" She asked, her head tilted to one side. I was still listening to Iggy and Fangs conversation, so I wasn't really paying attention.

"Er, no," was all I said.

"What happened?" Iggy turned to him, wiping his hands on a towel to get rid of the cookie crumbs.

"Well first of all, it was impossible to keep the kids together, even with Max and me keeping an eye on them. It was like someone had been pumped sugar directly into their bloodstream, they were practically bouncing off the walls."

"I think you have, look at your eyes there all red and puffy." Max stepped closer to me. She squinted slightly at my eyes.

"Ug, and then there were the girls," Fang groaned, his shoulders slumping slightly.

"The girls?" Iggy sounded slightly curious now.

"It was like they were in some kind of herd. No, herd isn't the right word for it, more like pack. They kept coming over, asking me all these questions, like: 'Are you new in town?' or, 'Do you go to the high school here?' They were driving me crazy! Not to mention every time one of them came up Max nearly threw a fit. Her face would get all red, and then her eyes would start popping out of her head," he chuckled slightly, "I have to say, that was kind of funny. But still, they were so annoying, especially when I was trying to watch the kids."

"Fang, you lady killer," Iggy teased, laughing slightly.

"Yeah, well you should have seen it when…" his voice faded out into the back ground as Max's hand waved in front of my face.

"Hello? Earth to Ella, anybody in there?"

"Huh?" I asked intelligently.

"Hmm, it's funny, but I kind of get the feeling that you weren't listening to me." Max said with her usual sarcasm.

"Oh, er, sorry, what were you saying?" I asked, giving up on trying to hear the boys conversation.

"I was saying that your eyes look kind of red, did something happen?" Uh-oh, what was I supposed to say?

"Uh," I said, trying to think of an excuse. I had had my period last week, and Max knew it, so I couldn't lie about that… what was I suppose to say?!

"You were crying," Max's eyes narrowed, there was no question in her voice.

"Iggy!" Max turned, fire practically coming out of her nose.

"Wait, it's not his"—I tried to say, but Max had already started talking.

"Ella's been crying. Why?" She glowered at him, "You were the only one home, what happened?"

"She has?" He asked. He seemed genuinely surprised. Had he forgotten about what had happened like two minutes ago?! Or… was he just lying because he didn't want anyone to know. Was he embarrassed? Or maybe he thought I was embarrassed? Well, I suppose I sort of am embarrassed.

"Max," I tugged on her sleeve slightly, "really, its fine, and it has nothing to do with Iggy. I'll," I paused, "I'll tell you later, okay?" I would probably be able to think of something by then.

"Okay," she didn't look convinced, maybe she just wanted an excuse to yell at someone? Her nerves did seem to be stretched rather thin.

"Here, come help me with the rest of the bags. Just wait until I tell you about our day today. There were these girls at the store, oh my god, they were such…" I let her voice fade out slightly as we walked out to the car.

As I left, I heard Fang say, "Hey Iggy, your shirts all wet, what happened?"

"Oh this," Iggy replied nonchalantly, "I just spilled some water while I was cooking, no biggy."

No biggy? Was that all it was?

Well, maybe it wasn't that big of a deal, I just hugged him, it's not like we… like we did anything, like kissed or something. Ah! I can't believe I just thought of something as crazy as that! I mean me and Iggy kissing, that's totally crazy! It would never happen.

But still, it was odd. Iggy was acting like nothing had happened, while I was totally freaking out! Maybe it was just me? Maybe he just hadn't felt the same things I did when we hugged… or maybe he just didn't have his emotions sorted out yet, heck, I didn't have my emotions sorted out yet. Aren't girls supposed to be the ones who are in touch with their emotions?

Arg! I can't believe I'm talking about this as if it's some sort of romantic situation! Nothing had happened, it was no big deal!

Nothing had happened… right?

Okay, so how was that? I know it was terribly angsty, sorry! I'm hoping the next chapter will have more humor, but I'm not making any promises, because I never know what's going to happen with my fics.

Oh, BTW, the whole thing where Iggy is explaining how he became blind is totally made up. I mean, the part about them experimenting on his eyes is true, this is just my spin on how it happened.

Reviews would be mucho, mucho appreciated! But I'm not going to say some stupid 'Review or die' thing that a lot of authors do, it pisses me off, so don't expect one. Constructive criticism in said reviews would be even more appreciated! I'll give anyone who can give me constructive criticism cyber cookies! And if they tell me they're a Twilight fan I'll give them Cullen Cookies! (Much better than just normal cookies) Please be specific though, tell me what you did like, AND what you didn't like, even if it's minor things, like the way I phrased something, or if it has something to do with how one of the characters acted. Thank you for taking the time to write a good review!

Flames will be used to throw a smores party! If you do not want your flames to be used to cook smores, don't send them.

I should be able to get another chapter out somewhat soon. That is if I don't get writers block, which is pretty probable.

This is a bit of a rough draft, but if there are any mistakes don't hesitate to tell me, and I'll fix them ASAP! But don't be too vague, like "oh yeah, you spelled 'our' 'are' in one place", tell me the exact place please! Thank you!

I hope you enjoyed! (Wow, this was one long authors note, you're, like, super awesome if you read this far)

EDIT: I am sorry to anyone who is following this story, but it has temporarily been put on hiatus. My life has become too hectic and I can't keep up with my writing, so, unfortunately, I will not be able to update as often as I want to. I will continue this story, I just don't know how soon, so don't expect any updates in the near future. I apologize for any inconvenience.

Authors note: Eek! Sorry for taking so long to update! I had meant to have this chapter out yesterday night, but (as usual) my life got crazy and my writing was put on the back burner. So, here it is!

Disclaimer: I do not own Maximum Ride, or any of its wonderful characters. It all belongs to the brilliant, James Patterson.

Chapter two: Rumors

It seemed like the afternoon had gone on forever. Iggy hadn't had the chance to sit still. There was so much to do, chasing kids, making sure cookies didn't burn, helping Dr. M with dinner, the list went on.

I'm exhausted, Iggy thought as he flopped down onto his bed, this is the first chance I've gotten to actually think about stuff.

Think about stuff… Yes, he had a lot to think about. Like what had happened earlier.

What had happened earlier? And why did he feel so… odd. No, odd wasn't the right word, he just felt… this indescribable feeling. It was like he was happy and nervous at the same time. He had been able to fake a cool attitude all day, but now he was sort of freaking out.

"Ug," he groaned and rolled over. He had never been hugged by a girl before, was this how he was supposed to feel; this strange mixture of happiness and complete and utter terror?

He closed his eyes and tried to remember what it had felt like exactly. He smiled slightly as he remembered how warm she had been, and how good she had smelled. At that moment, he had felt completely calm, as if everything was right in the world. He had felt like he wanted to stay like that forever, with her in his arms forever.

He sucked in a sharp breath as a thought occurred to him. Could he have feelings for Ella? Could he be… he cut that thought short. It wasn't possible, it couldn't be. He had had little crushes on girls, and laughed with Fang over girls, but could he actually be seriously interested in one? In Ella? That didn't seem possible.

But… what if it was? What if he was interested in her? Romantically?

"Arg! That's not possible!" He yelled while messing up his hair with his hands, and twisting dramatically on the bed.

"What's not possible?" Fang's monotone voice asked from the door.

Iggy sat up quickly, his head turning in Fang's directions. How could he have not heard him coming? Had he really been that deep in thought?

"Uh, nothing. What do you want?" Iggy glared at Fang, wishing he would go away and let him think. Oh, how he hated sharing a room.

"Max wants everyone downstairs, we're having a meeting." Iggy heard Fang shift from leaning against the door. "Come on, let's go."

"What?" Iggy asked, scrambling off the bed. "What's it about? We're not leaving are we?" For some reason the thought of leaving made Iggy's chest squeeze painfully. Was it the thought of leaving Ella?

Erg, don't think about that, he squashed down the train of thought as hard as he could.

"No, I don't think we're leaving. I'm not sure what it's about."

I'll just have to think later, he mused as he followed Fang downstairs. For now, he would just stay on guard and watch how he felt around her.

"Good, you guys are here," Max's voice came from the far end of the table. "Here, sit next to Ella," she tapped the table between her and where Ella must be sitting, letting him know where to go.

Ella was there? Why? Why would she be included in a meeting between the flock?

"So, obviously we've been staying here for the last few weeks," Max started.

"And I've loved having you," Doctor Martinez's voice broke in, She sounded like she was sitting on the other side of Ella.

"Right, but we all knew it wouldn't be permanent, we are trying to save the world and all that stuff." Uh-oh, here it comes, 'we're leaving.' Iggy's heart sank, He would once again leave his home, going off to find some new, un-memorized territory.

"But," Max paused, "a few of you have expressed a desire to stay longer than just a few weeks. So, we're taking a vote, all in favor of staying?" It sounded like every member of the flock raised their hand.

Max chucked slightly, "That's what I thought you'd say. In that case, we're staying for as long as we can, welcome to your new home!" Everyone clapped, and Angel and Gazzy squealed loudly.

"Okay, okay, quiet down," Max said, but she sounded like she was smiling. "Now, with privileges also comes responsibility, meaning we're going to be enrolling in school." Gazzy groaned, but everyone else sounded excited.

"Fang, Iggy and I will be going to the same school as Ella, Everyone else will be going to the middle and elementary school here, okay?" Everyone must have nodded, because Max continued, "Okay, so we'll be starting on Monday, which is the day after tomorrow. We're going to go get school supplies tomorrow, so make sure you get a good night sleep tonight, no more sleeping in." The younger members of the flock all sighed dramatically, and Max moved on to answering questions from them, with some help from Dr. M. So Iggy had some time to think.

School: also known as Hell on Earth.

Iggy shuddered at the thought of going to school, with all of its tiny rooms, and books he couldn't read, not to mention how loud it was, kids running all over the place, metal lockers banging open and shut. Iggy could barely hear himself think in a school. He didn't want to go back to one, not ever. But Max's word was law, so it looked like to Hell he was going, whether he liked it or not.

"Iggy?" Ella's small voice made him jump, he hadn't been paying attention.

"Iggy isn't this exciting?" He heard her hands smack together in excitement. "We get to go to school together, this is so exciting!" The rest of the Flock was either talking animatedly, or in the kitchen in search of cookies. He hadn't even noticed that they had left.

"Uh," he said, not sure how to respond.

Ella didn't seem to notice since she went on talking, "Oh, I can't wait to introduce you to all of my friends, you're just going to love them, I know you are. Oh, I was really, really hoping everyone would be able to stay, and they can!" She was squirming in her seat, as if she was too excited to sit still.

"I wish you could see me smiling Iggy, because I am smiling, I'm so happy we can go to school together." He could almost picture her in his head, hands clasped tightly, smiling up at him.

"Y-yeah," he tried to hide the slight blush that had come to his cheeks by looking down slightly, his hair covering his eyes.

He heard her giggle.

Well, he thought, I guess I was right, there's definitely something going on. Because, all I know is that when I'm with Ella nothing seems to matter anymore. Not being blind, or having wings, or going to school, all that matters is her. I feel like I would do anything for her, even go to Hell and back.

-Intermission-

Want a drink? Need a snack? Well, go fast! Because I can only have writers block for so long!

The next day seemed to fly by. You would be surprised at how tiring it is just to try and find the right school supplies.

Before Iggy knew it he was sitting on his bed, listening to Fang get dressed. This school did sound a little better than their old school, at least they wouldn't have to wear uniforms. Of course, now Iggy actually had to think about what he was going to wear, which was a bit of a pain, especially when you're blind. A lot of conversations went along the lines of:

"Hey, Fang? What color is this?"

"Green."

"Does green look good on me?"

"…"

Iggy smirked as he thought of how Fang must have looked this morning, when Iggy had probably asked him the style and color of his entire wardrobe.

"Jeez, Fang, what's taking you so long?" Iggy asked, just to add fuel to the fire.

Fang stopped buttoning his shirt and stood still, Iggy got the intense impression that he was glaring at him.

"Why Fang?" Iggy said in a mock hurt voice, "why do I get the feeling you're glaring at me? That's not very nice."

Fang grunted, and turned back to his dresser, he rustled around until he found what he was looking for and then sat down to put on what Iggy guessed was a pair of socks.

Iggy pouted at him, "You're not going to play with me?"

"No," Fang said icily, "I am not going to play your crazy mind games today Iggy, I'm too tired."

"Fine," Iggy said, "I'll give you a break today since we have to go to school, but don't expect one tomorrow."

"Yeah, yeah," Fang got up and stretched, "I know you only do it to make yourself feel better because really you have very low self-esteem."

God, I hate it when he psychoanalyzes me, Iggy thought to himself.

"Fang?"

"Yes?"

"I hate you."

"I know," Fang said in a sing song voice, and Iggy was almost positive that he was smirking quite deviously.

Iggy followed Fang downstairs, walking as slow as possible.

Ella's POV

"Hi Iggy! You ready to go?" I asked as he came downstairs. To say that I was excited was a bit of an understatement. I just couldn't wait to have the Flock at my school. School days had been so boring ever since Max and the others had gotten here, but now I could see them all the time.

Iggy grunted slightly, not looking happy at all.

"Is something wrong?" I had never thought that he might not want to go, but, maybe he didn't, I suppose school isn't their idea of fun.

"Oh, not really, I'm just… a little apprehensive about going back to school." Now that I was paying attention, Iggy didn't look well at all, his face was pale, and his forehead looked slightly clammy.

"You've gone to school before?" I was slightly surprised. I had thought that they had been on the run, when did they find time to go to school?

"Long story," Max said with a sigh, taking a big gulp of her morning coffee. Hmm, I would have to ask her about that later.

But, if Iggy had gone to school before maybe he had had a bad experience, like the kids teasing him or something? My eyes widened in realization. Of course, Iggy was blind, so he has a harder time then anyone at a new school. He has to memorize the whole place, and it's so noisy and crazy, kids shouting everywhere.

"Don't worry Iggy," I said enthusiastically, "I'll make sure you feel right at home at my school. My friends are really nice, and I'll show you everything, so it will be super easy to memorize. I know that once you get used to it you'll just love school!"

Iggy, and everyone else, seemed slightly surprised at my sudden outburst. I suppose it had come out of nowhere.

Iggy chuckled slightly, "Jeez Ella, you sure are energetic this morning." He patted me on the head casually as he walked into the kitchen.

"Oh," I blushed slightly, "I know, I just want to make sure everyone has a good time."

"I'm sure it'll go fine, relax, I'm a big boy," he seemed as if he didn't have a care in the world as he popped open his box of cereal, as if school was no big thing.

But, Ella thought to herself, he seems so tense, so tight.

Well, she reasoned, I suppose I'll just have to make sure he feels comfortable, I'll do everything I can to make sure he enjoys school! Yeah, that's the spirit.

"What are you looking so motivated about?" Iggy raised an eyebrow at me.

I giggled. "Oh, nothing."

Iggys POV

The morning flew by, and before Iggy knew it, it was lunch.

School hadn't gone as bad as it could have. No one morphed into Erasers, and the teachers seemed to be pretty much sane, and of course, he hadn't seen any tazers yet, which is always a good sign.

But mostly, the reason he felt so calm was because of Ella. She never left his side, she sat next to him in classes, helping him with little things that would have been hard to do on his own, or she was in the halls, making sure he didn't bump in to anyone. She would hold his hand to make sure he knew where he was going, it was like she read his mind and knew exactly what he needed. Usually the Gasman would help him with stuff like this when they were in public areas, but he wasn't there, and Max and Fang were too busy getting used to the school themselves to help him with everything.

There was only one thing that Ella couldn't help: gossip.

Of course, the new blind kid got plenty of gossip. And for some reason people seemed to automatically assume that if one was blind, one was also deaf. Which, obviously, Iggy was not, so he could hear everything they said about him, even things Ella didn't hear.

"Just ignore them," Ella told him. "They're all dorks anyway, trust me, you don't care what they think."

"Right," Iggy said. His voice sounded completely calm, cool, and relaxed, and it's not like he really did care what they thought. But still, he felt like he was surrounded by hyenas just waiting for a juicy tidbit of gossip.

"Okay, so here is the cafeteria," Ella announced as they entered a room that felt huge to him. Voices bounced off the walls, and he could hear much moving of bodies, and shuffling of feet.

"There are twenty-six tables, each three feet apart, with a little bit of a larger gap on the outside of the room…" Ella went on to explain where to get the lunch trays, and which foods were what. Iggy found himself thinking that Ella must be an angel, because she sure was a godsend.

"And here's our table!" Ella seemed to be extremely excited about something and for some strange reason Iggy started feeling apprehensive.

"And, well, these are my friends, you don't mind sitting with them do you?" Iggy could hear Ella's hands twist as she worried them.

"Huh? Oh, uh, no." Now Iggy knew what he felt apprehensive about. A table full of unknown girls, the possibilities of pain was limitless, both physically and mentally.

He sat down awkwardly, feeling extremely out of place. Ella introduced her three friends and they all chorused a hello, their voices high and girly. He could hear them whispering and giggling.

"Guys, cut that out," Ella whispered fiercely, and Iggy heard her slap one of her friends lightly.

Iggy cleared his throat slightly, and prepared his act.

"So," he made his voice a higher pitch then it usually was, "I just have to know, how did you four become BFFs?" Iggy put his hands underneath his chin, and widened his eyes, the spitting image of curiosity.

He could hear Ella's startled little squeak at his new demeanor, but it was soon drowned out by the three girls trying to all tell him the story at once, chattering over each other.

Iggy put in the right amount of 'oohs' and 'ahs,' and asked all of the right questions. Before he could say 'Prada' he was one of the girls. They told him everything, things he didn't even want to know.

But it was worth it. It was all worth the smile he was sure Ella had on her face, and the "Thank you Iggy, you're amazing!" he got as they left lunch. That made it worth it all.

The afternoon went by as fast as the morning had. And he was just about to leave when he remembered his jacket. He had left it in the classroom. He told Ella he would be right back, and ran to the classroom. She offered to go with him, but he said it was fine; he was pretty used to the school by now.

He was almost to the classroom when he heard a few voices.

"God, did you hear about that blind kid?" Iggy heard a male voice say. He stopped right outside the door, listening.

They must be cleaning up the classroom, Iggy thought to himself.

"Huh? No, what blind kid?" Another voice said. He was also a guy, but this voice didn't sound so deep.

The first guy laughed, "He just transferred today. I heard he walked into a wall, how sad is that?"

The second boy started laughing too, "Really? A wall? Jeez…"

Iggy scowled, he most certainly did not walk into a wall. Man, he hated rumors.

"Come on, cut it out," another voice, a girl this time, "it's mean to talk about someone behind their back."

"Oh, relax," the first guy said.

"Yeah, it's not like he would say anything anyway. I mean, he's blind, what could he do?"

"I guess…" the girl didn't seem so sure.

"Ahem," Iggy coughed slightly as he walked in. He casually grabbed his jacket off of the table as the girl made sputtering noises, obviously embarrassed.

Good, she should be, Iggy thought to himself, but said nothing.

He closed the door behind him, and paused slightly, listening.

"Oh my god!" The girl squealed, "Do you think he heard us?"

"Who cares?" The first guy said.

"Yeah," the second one guffawed. "It's like…"

Iggy turned away from the door; he didn't need to hear any more.

This was what he had been afraid of, and he had sort of been expecting it, but that didn't mean he had to like it.

He didn't like to think of himself as handicapped, but the truth was, was that, to most of the world, he was handicapped. He was blind, he couldn't do certain things as well as other people could, he wasn't as good. So, what argument did he really have?

"Is something wrong?" Ella asked as he walked out of the school.

"No," he lied smoothly, mentally kicking himself for not remembering to compose his face before he came out.

"Oh, you looked kind of odd there for a minute, you sure?" Ella grabbed his hand, showing him the path to take to walk back to their house.

"Of course, I'm fine," he smiled down at her.

And he would be, he would be fine. He just had to except that he was never going to fit in. He was never going to be just like any other kid. He was different, he was odd. That was just the way it was, and he just had to put up with those guys, he just had to endure it.

He would endure it.

Authors note: Hmm, I don't really like how the second half of this chapter came out. I wrote them at two different times, and I sort of had writers block while writing it. I know, another sad part, sorry! It will get better in the next chapter! Which I should have out somewhat soon.

Oh, also, all the stuff about how Iggy is putting himself down is just what Iggy's thinking, not how I actually think of him! It was so hard to write that part, I was all 'No Iggy! That's not true, you're awesome!'

Oh yeah, and the reason why Iggy is just walking home with Ella is because Max goes to get the younger kids to walk home with, so she takes a different route. But she said Iggy didn't have to come if he didn't want to, she told him he could just walk home with Ella. And the reason why doctor M doesn't pick them up is because she works late.

If you have any other questions, or if something doesn't make sense (like if I accidently make it sound like Iggy sees something) don't hesitate to point it out!

My beta hasn't had a chance to look at this yet, so it may be a little messy, although I think I worked out most of the kinks (I hope!). But if you do see any grammar or spelling mistakes don't hesitate to point them out! (Just please tell me the exact place! Don't just say, 'I think there was one place where you did *fill in the blank* when you were supposed to do *fill in the blank*' Tell me the exact place please! Thank you!)

Oh, also, what do you think of the name? I know it doesn't fit at all, but I couldn't think of anything else when I first posted this. I mean, they're not really drabbles, so the name doesn't really work. Any ideas?

Thank you so much for reading! I hope you enjoyed it! (And if you didn't like it please tell me why, I always love getting constructive critiques)