Valedictorian- A Maximum Ride Fanfiction

13th Period

WHEN MAX RETURNED from her flight, the first thing that happened was Ren massaging her wings. He sat her down, murmured softly as he sorted through her feathers and pressed down on all the right places. Her previous tension from Ari's sudden announcement melted away, and by the time that he was done Max was droopy eyed, drowsy and completely content.

"You planned this." She slurred towards Fang; who was, coincidentally, leaning against the wall looking all too smug. Nudge was also sitting down at his feet, looking much like how Max suspected her own face did at the moment; Gazzy was sleeping and Angel looked like a kid for the first time in ages. Max rolled her wings, a pleased groan leaving her. 

"The kid is good at it." Was all she got from him, and Max was, oddly, okay with that. She was okay with everything right now. The world was made of freaking rainbows. Across the room, Ren sighed and cracked his own shoulders- rolling his arm as his wings twitched. "Sorry buddy," Fang said, ruffling his hair. "None of us know any bat shiatsu."

Okay, who was the one opposed to adopting him? Max thought, shooting him a dopey grin. Ren was looking pretty damn adopted right now. 

"'s long as everyone's happy." Ren murmured, batting away Fang's hand. Heh. Bat. Get it?

A cough grabbed her attention, and Max shifted her gaze to Sebastian who was sitting cross legged next to Iggy; both of them sporting chagrined faces and grimy hands. She glanced back to Ren, still stretching his shoulders, and he shrugged. 

"They tried to make a window." He said with finality, and Max laughed. Gazzy and Iggy's plans from the few days prior came to mind, along with Ren's face when he stopped them. She could only imagine what happened this time. The fact that the usually headstrong Sebastian was looking so withdrawn just added to the hilarity. That being said, Ren was probably the type of person who went along with everything until he got mad, and Max made a mental note never to piss him off. It'd be scary.

Said boy clicked his tongue, the duo of pyromaniacs (minus the sleeping gasman) flinching in synchronicity at the sharp sound, and Nudge giggled. Rem leaned closer to the two of them, clicking his tongue tongue repeatedly; and Gazzy rolled over and farted, covering his ears with an unhappy mumur. 

Sebastian's face turned green.

Max sobered up.

"Guess that's why he's the gasman." The white haired girl wheezed, making gagging noises and swishing the her spit around her mouth. Everyone else in the cave's face was similar except for Ren's, who still looked totally impassive- eyes lidded and face blank. Sebastian tugged weakly on his sleeve. "Still against that window, overlord?"

"Still." Ren nodded, fingers drumming on his knee. Sebastian groaned, obviously miserable.

"It's probably for the better," Iggy piped up; years of exposure making the smell unimpressive to him though he still had a grimace on. "If we blew something up now, all of Gazzy's gas would catch on fire and we'd become Kentucky Fried Chicken."

"Seattle Fried Bat." Sebastian added in, both people glancing (well, in Iggy's case, inclining his head) towards Ren as if asking for supplication. Ren sighed, amused, and Fang rolled his eyes.  Both boys turned their backs and spread their wings- midnight appendages flaring out before flapping; powerful gusts blowing all the fart out of the mouth of the cave. Max was not envying the seagulls.  

'You have to know, Max. I just. I want to help you.'  And there was the downside of being back to her senses. Ari's voice resounded in her head, his withdrawn face the only clear image, and Max shook her head. Not now, brain. But since when did her brain ever listen to her? Answer: never. 'I don't know what it is, but they're.. planning something.' Her head and it's voices. She should seriously be quarantined. 'If you run into anyone new.. don't trust them. It's ironic coming from me but..'

"--Die. Like plants with no water. No food. Die. Don't wanna die. Sucks even more because I know where the water is but can't get it. I'm not a cactus. I won't survive. Don't wanna die." Max snapped out of her reverie, Sebastian sliding down the wall with a face suited for a dying whale. Her 'I don't want to die' speech was muttered like a mantra, and Fang gave Max a look like 'What's up with her?'. Max shrugged. 'Like I have a clue.' He cocked his head 'Maybe she's delirious from prime exposure to Gasman's farts'. Max nodded approval.

"She's asking for your help." Ren murmured, nudging Sebastian aside and depositing himself between her and Iggy. "She's bad at that. Or anything that requires a shred of humility."

"Hey." Sebastian frowned, but Ren brushed her off and continued anyway.

"The two of us are injured, and our supplies are running low. It's possible to get up here without flying, but pretty much impossible to get out if you don't have wings. Seb can't fly and I can't walk." 

"So she's asking if we can pick things up for her if she gives us the coordinates." Fang finished, ignoring the bright grin Sebastian shot him. Definitely delirious. Ren nodded his affirmation, and Max shook her head. Her lips settled into a small frown. 

"I'd love to, but.."

"But we talked." Nudge cut in, a smile on her face. Angel nodded as well, shooting her a slightly resigned look while Iggy grinned. The implications of Nudge cutting in flooded her mind, Max's heart filled with love. "Like, what you asked us earlier.. we're still not totally gung-ho about it, but we're cool with sticking around a bit. Besides, I have to find some way to bribe Ren into giving me these massages everyday."  

"Fruit." Sebastian blurted, ignoring the glare Ren shot her. "He was really antisocial when I first met him, but he'll do anything for fruit. Strawberries, especially." Iggy made an interested noise, and Ren sort of looked like he wanted to sink into the wall. He leaned back and huffed, his breath disrupting his fringe. "He's a glutton that doesn't know where to stop though, so don't give him too much."

"So, leader." Fang slid down the wall and sat down next to her, another smug grin on his face. "What do we do?"

"Guess we'll be getting those shipments." Max grinned.