The Ultimate, Cielo [the top 100 crime novels of all time TXT] 📗

can't hang out at home? I mean, you live right down the street."
"I said-" I started, but was interrupted by a voice behind me.
"No. She said no." I turned around to see Fang.

Fang POV:

I was sitting as my table at the back of the cafeteria. Then I see Max start to head towards me like a steam engine with no breaks-probably coming to ask why I've been following her all day; it's a good thing we have all the same classes.
Anyway, I see that jerk, Dylan, intercept her. I hate him. Doesn't he know Max could be in danger? Well, probably not, but it't still no excuse for how he treated her yesterday. They start talking, but I am close enough to hear.
"Dylan, move." Max said.
"Max, just listen for a minute," he says. Then he starts going on and on about how sorry he is, and how they can still be friends.
Then, with a satisfaction I have yet to understand, I hear Max say "Uh, yes it does," reffering to when the jerk said his newfound popularity doesn't mean their friendship has to be over.
I was happy for a second. Why? I don't have the least fricken' idea, but hey, happy is happy. Then the jerk (Dylan) continued talking, "Max, think about it," he said,, and started saying that even though they can't be seen at school, doens't mean that they can't hang out at home.
This got me angrier than anything out of his mouth so far. I mean, he wants to be Max's friend, but he's too ashamed to be seen with her at school? No, that wasn't going to work, not with me-as long as I was watching her.
So as Max is about to answer him again, I come up behind her, and complete her sentance, "No. She said no." Only to haver her turn around face me, complete shock on her face.

Max POV:

I stared at Fang, so completely at a loss for words. Was he trying to defend me? Or mock me? How did he even hear? We were almost on the other side of the cafeteria.
"What are you doing here?" I asked him.
"You looked like you were having some trouble." was all he said in response.
"I can take care of myself." I said. Defensivly, I admit, but I think I have that right.
Completely ignoring me, Fang turned to Dylan. "She told you no, I think you should leave," by now the talking in the cafeteria had died down, and all eyes were on us.
"I didn't ask you," Dylan said, but there was a hint of fear in his eyes.
"Doesn't really matter" Fang said simply. "Leave or I'll make you."
Apparently trying to keep as much dignity as possible-which wasn't much-Dylan glared at Fang a second more, before walking away, and back to Jaquleen and her merry band of sluts.
I turned to Fang, "What was that?!" I asked anrgily.

Chapter 8

"Why don't we just sit down first?" Fang asked, as he started to lead me back to the table, and because I was so shocked that I even got a response from him, I didn't protest.
Once we had sat down, me on one side, him on the opposite side, "Now tell me why you did that." I demanded.
"Did you expect me to just sit here like evryone else when it was obvious you had a little...problem?" He replied.
"That's exactly what I expected! You ignored me yesterday, and now, today, you're sticking up for me? Well, I have news for you-I can take care of myself, and I don't need your help." I said, adding emphasis by poking him in the chest on 'your help'.
Fang was just as calm as always-which only served to annoy me more-when he said, "You need help, Max. I don't know how I know, I just do."
"Well I don't want it from you." I said coldly. I had a dream that he was bad. As much as it could have been a dream, or prophacy, it could just as easily have been my subconsious warning me against what it recognized as danger.
For a split second Fang lost control of his empty face mask, allowing me to see what lie beneath. i saw the flash of pain my words caused him, but as soon as I saw it, it was gone, his walls back up. It wasn't pain I heard in his voice, it was anger. Anger with something underneath, what I could only guess was the hurt from what I had said, but with the walls back up it was hard to tell. "Max, I won't let you get hurt."
"What makes you think I'll get hurt? Are you threatening me?" I asked acidly.
Fang blinked a few times, something I instinctivly knew to be his form of utter astonishment. "Why would I want to hurt you? I'm trying to help you Max. The last thing I want is for you to be hurt. Do you want to know the real reason why I went up and made Dylan leave?" he asked. I only nodded. "I went up there because it was obvious to me that him talking to you after what he did yesterday angered you, but I saw that it also saddened you to tell him no. You knew you couldn't trust him, but it didn't stop the fact that he had once been your friend, and I didn't want you to have to do it again."
I sat there, struck silent. He was right. One-hundred percent right. Nobody had ever been able to guess that much about me, and it was not only scary, but creepy. This only fed to the theory that he was someone to be wary of, afraid of. So I said, "Leave. Me. Alone." in the coldest tone I could muster, and walked away from the table. The voice that I had heard when I was thinking about Fang the other day came back to me, You're making a mistake. Playing right into the wrong hands. Turn around. Now.

But I didn't listen. I'd come to the conclusion that I was a) going crazy, and if that was the case, then I wasn't about to encourage it by listening to my imaginary voices, or b) it was a real voice, and since I had no idea where it came from, I was not about to trust it. I think choice A is the more accurate one though.

Fang POV:

I sat at the table long after Max had left. What she had said really got to me. It hurt, and I couldn't understand why. Why should I care what she thought of me, or weather or not she wanted me around? But I did care, and her rejection was almost worse than my dream. Because this was real. She had really told me to stay away from her, but I couldn't do that. She might get hurt if I wasn't behind her, watching her.
She tried to do everything by herself, but she couldn't do that now. I don't know how or why, but I had this strong feeling that this time she couldn't do it alone. Whatever it was. Something was lurking, I could sense it. And it wanted Max. That's what the dream had meant, I was almost sure of it. She couldn't take it alone, not without dying, and I was not about to let that happen.
I stayed in that seat until the last school bell rang. I was going to follow Max home, where I somehow knew she would be safe. I was now living completely by instinct, and i had no idea if that was good or bad, but it was all I had. I silently, and quietly followed her. I had been following her for about ten blocks-I wondered where her car, and siblings were-when she stopped.
For a moment I was afraid she had seen me. But then she turned to look to her left, and let out an earsplitting shriek of disgust and horror.

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Publication Date: 04-14-2010

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