The smell of homemade cookies wafts up at me with a giant heat wave as I open the oven door. I take out the golden brown morsels and replace them with another pan as the doorbell rings.

“I’ll get it.” My mother says handing me the spatula; I start scraping the cookies off the pan.

I hear her talking to someone but can’t tell who it is, than she calls, “Lexie its Max.” I smile I’ve know Max sense I was five and he’s been my boyfriend for almost a year now.

“One second!” I holler back. I put the last cookie on the plate and set the timer for the ones in the oven.

I walk around the corner that separates our kitchen from our living room and Max gives me one of my favorite crooked smiles. “Hey Lexie,” He says from the doorway brushing off some snow that had landed in his dark brown almost black hair. “Can I talk to you for a minute?”

“Sure, mom can you look after the cookies for me?”

She smiles pursing her lips a little, “Yes, but you better be back before they are all done.” She says leaving the room.

I roll my eyes, “She doesn’t trust my to be alone with you for very long.”

He laughs, “Come on.” and jesters outside, I grab my coat and fallow him out the door.

After we have walked a good distance from the house I turn around and start walking backwards so I can face him, “What do you want to talk about?” I ask.

“In here,” He says heading into the tree line that surrounds my house. I turn back around and we walk in silence in till we reach a small clearing.

He takes off his jacket and turns around to face me, “See me.” He says quietly.

I smile unsure, “What?”

“See me.” He says with a little more force. “See what I really am.”

“Max you’re starting to freak me out.” I say starting to back up slowly.

“See my wings, Lexie.” His eyes bore into my, unblinking and serious. He really thought he had wings and for a moment I fool myself into believing.

I see something move behind him and I freeze. I try to focus on it but than I can’t see it anymore.

“That’s it.” He says a look of apprehension on his face, “you have to believe me.”

“What?” I say exasperated.

“You know what they say,” he smiles a little, “humans see what they want to see. You have to believe me.” He continues his crystal blue eyes shining with his unbelievable tale and again for have a second I believe him.

I see the movement again but this time it doesn’t disappear and I see them, his thirteen-foot, dark, honey colored, wings. How I could have never seen them before I didn’t know.

I gasp, “Max?” He smiles happier than I have ever seen him before.

“Do you see?” He laughs.

“Yes.” I whisper trying to take it all in.

My boyfriend had wings.

Pure pain erupts from between my shoulder blades. I fall to the ground screaming in agony, tears streaming down my face. “You’ll be alright.” I hear him whisper taking me into his arms. “It’ll all be over soon.”

I take in a shuddering breath as the pain fades into a dull ache. “Are you okay?” He asks worried. “I remember that it hurts like nothing else.”

“Ya, I’m okay.” I say a little dazed.

He smiles kindly, “Look behind you.”

I do as he says and as I turn I feel a slight tugging from where the pain had originated. Resting on the ground were a pair of wings, I gasp in wonder and fallow them up to my back, right in the dead center of my shoulders. They were slightly smaller than Max’s but so was I.

I smile trying to find the muscles to make them work. At first they only twitch on the ground but after a few minutes I figure out the puzzle and hold them high over my head.

I look back at Max feeling absolutely weightless. “Fast learner.” He laughs, seeming as though a burden has been lifted from him. “It took me three days to figure that out.” He hangs his head in fake shame. “And I thought that was good.”

I laugh jumping to my feet and he does the same. He takes my hand and says, “Come on and I’ll teach you to fly.”