Title: Blinding
Author: 2pennies
Rating: PG
Fandom: Sky High
Pairing: Warren/Layla
Disclaimer: I am in no way affiliated with Sky High, the characters, or the creators.
Layla was bright. Too bright. Blinding. Too many colors.
Always too many colors, Warren thought to himself.
Wearing a daisy yellow shirt layered over a cream long sleeve and blue corduroys today, his point was proven.
Her attire always made her stand out at the Paper Lantern - the bright shades of yellows, greens, and blues jumping from the various deep reds and golds of the restaurant. She was effortlessly spotted from any corner of the eatery. Sometimes, he was sure that she glowed making it even easier to spot her. All that brightness was distracting.
Too distracting, Warren's decided. He usually broke a few more plates when she was around.
Not that he minded.
She used to come in with Will for dinner often. They'd order too much, eat little, and always make Warren join them for the laughs.
He hated it.
A few months ago though, she started to come in alone. Something Warren noted but never asked her about. He had heard enough about it in the hallways of school to figure it out.
High school drama, he dejected.
He couldn't say he really minded though. Again. Though he would never admit it to anyone, seeing Layla outside of school, during school – Actually, anywhere, he realized – gave him something to look forward to.
Even though she insists on being as bright and distracting as possible, Warren thought as he headed towards the booth she was currently sitting at.
"Are you finished yet, Hippie?" he asked with a tone of annoyance as he took his usual seat across from her with a to-go box in hand.
"I have a name you know," she smirked snatching the box from him knowing he wasn't bothered at all.
He ignored her reply and watched her pack her plate into the to-go box.
"You always order too much food."
About to spout a rebuttal, she shook her head and closed her mouth instead half-dejected. Closing the box, she looked up at Warren. Meeting his eyes, she overcame her doubt from seconds before.
"It wouldn't be too much if you ate with me."
Looking for any hint of sarcasm or friendly banter in her tone, Warren found softness in Layla's eyes. Attempting to recover from the small shock of her revelation, he uncomfortably shifted in his seat and began to get up. Layla took the gesture as an awkward goodbye and began to get up to leave.
"Uh, if you want to wait a sec…' he muttered shuffling his feet. Layla stayed still.
"I could…walk you home. You know, if you want," he sputtered standing at the edge of the table, scratching the back of neck, darting his eyes away from Layla.
Slowly, Layla smiled and sat back down looking up at Warren. She mused inwardly at how uncomfortable he looked.
"Sure," she nodded. His eyes met her's again, and he swore he saw a glimmer of blue streak across them.
She found his free hand with her's and gave it a small squeeze.
"I'll wait," she whispered with a smile.
Warren looked at their joined hands, half afraid he was about to explode into a fireball by the mere contact while the other half of his thoughts concluded that he didn't really mind that Layla was always too bright.