You Have a Twin?!

The Braclet

Max's POV
"Ryan! Stop doing that!" Fang shouted at his brother. He had dozed off with his headphones in his ears while Ryan was in the room. That was his first mistake. The second was that everyone knows his phone password. "Oh come on! You love Shakira!" Ryan laughed back. "He has a point Fang." Nudge laughs. Fang stops chasing Ryan and stares at her. I, along with Mr. and Mrs. Cortez, burst into laughter when Fang says, "You gave him the idea! Get over here! Both of you diablos!" and he starts chasing the both of them as Nudge and Ryan run around the room side by side. I see them glance at each other and smirk. Uh oh. Fang's siblings turn and truck my fiancé. He lands on his back and groans. Then it gets worse, Nudge sits on Fang's stomach and Ryan sits on his legs. "Ahia. Scendi da me! Non riesco a respirare!" Fang says, tapping the floor beside him. I get confused, that wasn't Spanish cause Fang's grandparents are confused too. Nudge, well I'm pretty sure she didn't even hear him, but Ryan's eyes are wide. The next thing I know he's off of his twin's legs and jumping up and down in excitement. "Ryan! Calm down!" Mrs. Cortez says, but Ryan shakes his head, "No! Zanna just spoke Italian! I knew he could speak the language!" Fang had lifted his head a little to see the excited boy, he he flops his head back down with a groan. "Woah! Hold up! I'm all types of confused. One: Fang, since when do you know Italian, and two: Zanna means what exactly?" I ask, standing to pull Nudge off of her brother. "I don't." Fang sighs sitting up, but Ryan flings himself at his brother, from standing, so Fang hits the floor again, with another groan. "Zanna is Fang in Italian." Ryan answers then he laughs seeing his brother's face. "Max, come here I have to tell you something." Fang says, purposely weak. I roll my eyes and lean in, "Closer," Fang says. I brace my ears to have him yell in them, but he just says, "I love you. Avenge your dead lover by killing his evil twin." Then he shuts his eyes and turns his head. He even sticks his tongue out a little. I gaps, "Oh no! My lover has been killed by his evil brother. I must avenge him. OR Ryan and I could do some Hamlet shit." I smirk a little seeing Ryan's horrified face and Fang shoots up. He pushes Ryan away and says, "Oh look! I survived! Now Max and I can be together with no Hamlet stuff!" I start laughing and so do the older people and Nudge. "I think I'm gonna go hide from Max now." Ryan says, standing up and starting to walk away. "Ciao." Fang says then his eyes widen. Ryan whips around and pounces on his brother again. "Do you speak Spanish or Italian?!" I huff. "Ryan! Get off of me!" The excited baby just shakes his head and says, "I knew you knew some Italian! Just like I know some Spanish!" Fang groans, but confesses something only he knew, "I don't know some, I know all of it. I'm trilingual." We all look taken aback. After a minute of awkward silence, I whistle, "Damn boy. Teach me." Fang shakes his head, looking only at the floor. "Fang cariño, ¿qué pasa?" Mrs. Cortez asks, standing and walking over to her grandsons. "Uh, i-it's nothing. Just thinking is all." Fang's hand brushes to his front pocket, his phone is there. "How about we all calm down and relax. It's a very hot day so why don't you kids go swimming." Mr. Cortez suggests. He's kinda quiet, I'm pretty sure Fang got that from him, and he always knows how to end an awkward situation. "That's a great idea. It gives us a place to waste our energy while you two can relax." I agree with a smile. Everyone nods and Nudge and Ryan run to change. I take Fang's hand and lead him to his room. The Cortez family has an in-ground pool, and since I'm always over here I just leave one of my two bathing suits in my boyfriend's room. I grab my simple black and white bikini and Fang's black and white swim trunks. We didn't mean to buy matching swim suits, but fate is funny that way. I hold out the male swim suit to Fang, but he just stands awkwardly by the door. "Fang, what's wrong baby?" I ask, causing him to snap his head up to me, but he says nothing. I'm reminded of when I first met this shy boy.
~flashback~
"Max! Look over there!" my best friend Lissa Beach says, pointing to the sidewalk of the park. I look over and see she's pointing at three people. An elderly couple and a little boy. He looked about my age, about 7. "What about him?" "Oh, you wouldn't know cause of your doctor's appointment. That's the new boy in our class. His name is Fang Cortz or something. He's kinda weird. Jackson and I tried to go over and talk to him, but he flinched away." I roll my eyes and put down the ball we had been rolling back and forth, "Lissa, he's a new kid. He's probably just nervous. Were you, well you, when you tried to talk to him?" "What is that supposed to mean?!" "You're a very loud girl ya know. You might've scared him." I sigh. I glance back over at him and see him tug on the right sleeve of his blue long sleeve shirt. "No. He's just weird!" Lissa huffs. I stand and start to walk over to the three people, ignoring my best friend's calls. I give a little wave, "Hi. My name is Maximum Ride. My friend Lissa said you are new to our class. I wasn't their today because I had a doctor's appointment." I am quiet, both not wanting to scare this boy away and to prove to Lissa she's loud. Fang looks at me but he quickly looks away. "Oh I'm sorry. I didn't mean to scare you. I like making new friends and I like helping people. When I grow up I want to be a doctor so I can help people!" I say, hoping it'll help this boy open up a little. He still says nothing. I look up at who I'm assuming are Fang's grandparents. They are looking at him sadly. His grandmother open her mouth to say something to me, but a small, weak voice says, "Hi." Both adults eyes widen, and then smiles show up on their faces. A smile shows up on mine too. I hold out my right hand, "It's nice to meet you..." I trail off. Fang hesitantly shakes my hand and confirms his name, "Fang." "Would you like to come play with me and my friend?" Fang looks away again. "Go on cariño." Fang's grandmother says gently. He tugs on his sleeve again. I notice a white bandage around his wrist. "Did you fall and hurt your wrist?" I ask. Fang's head snaps up and I see fear in his eyes. "Don't worry. I fall all the time, see." I say, pulling up my green long sleeve, showing the large band aid on my elbow. "I tripped over my cousin's football." I explain. "Yes he fell. He's upset because the doctors said it'll scar." Fang's grandfather sighs. "Oh, it's ok. Here, you can wear this!" I say taking off my thick bracelet and handing it to him. Fang shakes his head. "Don't worry! I have another one. They can be like our friendship bracelets or something." I say, quickly pulling up my other sleeve and showing an almost identical bracelet. It's a leather band that has my name on it, Maximum Ride. The other one is new so it doesn't have anything yet. "Why are you being so nice to me?" Fang asks quietly. I give him a smile and say, "Because I want be your friend!" "Go on cariño. Make some new friends." Fang's grandmother says giving the boy a slight nudge forward. I slide the bracelet on Fang's wrist and grab his hand, pulling him with me to Lissa. I know he's scared, but I want to help him open up. I want to be his friend.
~end flashback~
I smile a little as I walk up to him. I hold out my right hand and say, "Hi. My name is Maximum Ride. I like helping people and I want to help you." Fang's face softens and a small smile graces his face as he shakes my hand. Our bracelets are the exact same ones from about 10 years ago. They're worn out, but they still have a long life ahead of them, just like our relationship. Fang got Fang Cortez stamped onto his about a year and a half after I gave it to him. It took a lot of convincing for him to actually agree. Fang really has been one of the best things that have happened in my life. If it hadn't been for him, I'd have stayed friends with Lissa and I'd be completely different. She and some other kids, kids I thought were my nice friends, bullied Fang a few days after I met him, so I stopped hanging out with her, stopped talking to her. Fang was the only friend I had for a while who wasn't related to me, then Iggy and his family came and surprisingly, Fang was friends with him first. Fang pulls me into a hug, which I gladly accept. "Thank you." I smile and nod. Then he ruins the sweet moment by popping my bra. He grabs his swim trunks and runs to his bathroom as I scream at him. He shuts the door right before my shoe can hit him in the head. "Shoe throwing isn't the only thing I learned from your grandma!" I yell them grab the chair in front of his desk and jam the bathroom door with it. "Max! Come on! You know I was playing!" "You know I hate when you do that! It hurts damnit!" I hear a squeal from outside and go over to see Ella and Nudge running to each other. Nudge in her tankini and Ella in non swimwear. She had to go take care of something back at the house. Nudge drags my sister into the house and I hear them run to Nudge's room. They are the same size so, as always, Ella will wear one of Nudge's bikinis. I quickly change, and of course, I can't get one strap done. I sigh as I let Fang out. He too has changed, and he notices my dilemma. "Turn around." He chuckles. I do as I'm told but I give him a warning, "If you pop my bikini, I swear you will never see little Max and Fang combos running around." Fang doesn't say anything as he ties the strap. After he finishes, he puts his face in the crook of my neck and hugs me from behind. "Max?" I asks against my neck. "Hm?" I hum. "Do you really want kids?" Fang asks. Kids are a touchy topic for him. He wants them, but he's scared he'll turn out like his father. "One day, after we're married and have steady jobs." I reply. Fang nods and gives my neck a kiss before he steps away, grabbing my hand. "Come on. Let's go make sure Ryan doesn't drown in a wet spot around the pool." Fang jokes. "The faith you have in your brother." I laugh as he pulls me to the backyard.

Translations: (Google Translate)
Diablos - Devils (Spanish)
Ahia. Scendi da me! Non riesco a respirare! - Ouch. Get off of me! I can't breathe! (Italian)
Ciao. - Bye. (Italian)
Cariño - Sweetie. (Spanish)