Title: My Arch-Enemy Became My Boyfriend

Pairing: Warren Peace/Will Stronghold
Tags: Angst, Romance, Drama, High School

Summary: Will's not obsessed with Warren; he just wants to know why Warren hates him so much. The fact that Warren is undeniably handsome and that he can't stop himself from staring every chance he gets has nothing to do with it. And he certainly is not jealous when he finds out Layla is going with Warren to the homecoming dance.


BETA: TheSupernova


Chapter 1: Obsessive


The cafeteria was bustling with activity, students ordering food, chatting over lunch or huddled in small study groups, as well as the kids in the back who played ping-pong at the activity tables every day.

"Will, you've got to come off it already," Layla said, staring Will straight in the eye. "Warren hates you, he hates all of us."

"I know, but—"

"Will—" Layla tried cutting him off, but Will wasn't listening.

"He doesn't even know me. I'm not my dad, and he's not his!" Will exclaimed, waving a fork full of mashed potatoes in the air. "I mean, come on, I get why our dad's hate each other, but—"

The school bell rang its 10-minute warning.

"Saved by the bell," Layla said to herself.

"What was that?"

"Nothing!" she replied cheerily. "Now come on, hurry and finish your lunch or we'll be late for class."


A few days after the destructive fight between Will and Warren in the cafeteria, Will found himself sneaking glances at Warren when he thought the other wasn't looking. It wasn't working too well, and Warren kept glaring at him right back, but Warren hadn't yelled at him to stop, so Will didn't.

"You're doing it again," Layla said, without bothering to look up.

"W-what are you talking about?" Will responded. "I'm totally not doing whatever it is you think I'm doing."

He ate a few more bites of his hamburger in-between conversing with Layla before he found his gaze slipping again. Warren was busy eating, his bangs partially covering his face. Will couldn't help but wonder if Warren's black hair had red highlights or if his hair was actually red and he dyed it black. With Warren's skin and eye color, they were probably highlights.

"Will!" Layla called out, snapping her fingers in front of his face. "Every time you stare at him, you drop the conversation. I don't need to be looking at you to know what you're up to."

Will didn't have a response to that.

"So um, what were we talking about again?" Will said, turning his attention back to her.

Layla glared at him suspiciously.

"What?" Will asked her.

After a few moments of silence, she tilted her head, a grin spreading across her face. "Do you like him?"

"WHAT?!" Will shouted, knocking his chair over as he jumped up in surprise. "What? No, no, no, no, no. It's impossible! No way do I have feelings for—"

He stopped short when he realized the entire cafeteria was looking at him.

"Uh, yeah. I uh…" Will stuttered. He picked up his chair and immediately sat down, placing his head in his hands. Will's cheeks were flushed with embarrassment.

Layla's smug grin made Will wish he had the power of invisibility. She dropped the topic after that, and Will kept his gaze away from Warren for the rest of the lunch hour.


After Will and Warren successfully saved the citizen in the doubles match, Will once again couldn't get Warren off his mind. As Will and Layla were walking home together, Will was bursting with excitement.

"We made a great team," Will stated confidently. "Well, not at first and we really didn't work together all that much. I more or less ended up saving his ass before throwing him over a pit of sharp, spinning spikes of doom just to save a life-sized doll crying for help, but he ended up saving the citizen, and our side won. Together. We won together. That has to mean something, right? Right?"

Layla just stared at him, exasperated. "Have you ever noticed that you talk about him a lot?"

"What? No I don't," Will said. It seemed to be a default response at this point, and he didn't really feel like looking too deeply into the matter.

"Mmhmm," Layla said. "If you say so."

"I do say so," Will told her. "All I want is to be friends with the guy, is that so bad?"

"No," Layla replied. She stopped and turned to face him. "But obsessing this much over one person? Will, I've known you since forever. This means something more than you're willing to admit."

"I— I…" Will stuttered. He couldn't seem to form the right words to say something, anything in his defense. Layla just gave him that all knowing look and kept walking.