TITLE: The Choice
AUTHOR: Pilla Jeffrey
EMAIL:
CATEGORY: Missing Scene/Epilogue, Thoughts, Romance, Drama, Angst
PAIRING: Will/Layla, Layla/Warren
SPOILERS: Hopefully you've seen the movie…
RATING: PG
CONTENT WARNINGS: mild language
SUMMARY: Will or Warren. The choice is harder than Layla ever thought it would be.
STATUS: Work In Progress
ARCHIVE: anywhere else, ask.
DISCLAIMER: I do not own Sky High. If I did, Kurt Russell would soon be starring in a Commander spin-off.
AUTHOR'S NOTES: Since there is a definite attraction between Layla and Warren, I felt the need to clarify canon. Fan fics in Sky High fandom too often either ignore the attraction or canon. This is my attempt to justify the canon in a world were the attraction was realized. And yes, half of my note used the words "canon" and "attraction."

"You're just embarrassing him. You're just embarrassing yourself."

She couldn't stop crying. She had been walking the streets aimlessly for—well, she didn't know how long, but it seemed like forever. Her insides were ripping apart with nausea and she couldn't get a good breath of air. She was choking on her own tears, her posture stumbling without any strength. Finally she collapsed on the side of the road, sitting wretchedly on the curb.

Her cell phone rang. She ignored it. It rang again. She ignored it. By the third time, she finally composed herself to look at who was calling. She pulled out her green cell phone and opened it, the wording blurry in her teary eyes. There, on the little screen, was flashing "Incoming Call: Will."

No. She sighed, sniffled, and hit "Ignore."

Gwen had been right. He must have known that she was in love with him. Hopelessly so. If Warren could tell that one night at the Purple Lantern, anyone could. But Will couldn't be the mean guy. He couldn't tell her that it was hopeless and that he'd never reciprocate her feelings. And because of that he'd never know how much it hurt her to even think of him.

How could she have been so stupid? So sightless to see that Will didn't like her, not even a little bit? Sure Gwen didn't have to be that mean about it, but she was only telling the truth. And Will—how dare he try to pretend that everything's fine and dandy after all this? He must have seen Gwen talking to her. He must have seen how rude and ruthless his new girlfriend was being. And he still chose Gwen. Because Gwen was perfect and everything Layla wasn't. Smart. Beautiful. A Hero.

That's what killed Layla the most: how much she'd given up for Will. When it came time for Power Placement, she willingly screwed herself over to be with Will, not only so that she could be close to him but so that he didn't look as pathetic as she knew he would look. At the time, she knew that her mother wanted her to be a Hero just like her during her days as Mother Nature. She knew that by developing her skills she could be one of the greats. But she also knew that Will hadn't developed any powers. Sure, he had talked about superstrength and all, but it was so clearly a façade that Layla hadn't tried to exacerbate the situation by calling him on it.

Her future and her past were so defined by Will Stronghold that it almost made her even sicker. She loved him so completely that she'd lost sight of herself. And now she was paying the price.

Her phone made a funny noise—not quite a beep but not quite an alarm—and she flipped it open. Her message box was full. She was tempted to check her voice mail and hear Will out, but—and she realized this as she wiped away the remaining tears from her eyes and took a deep breath—she wasn't ready to hear it.

After a while, she picked herself up and kept walking. Unbeknownst to her conscious self, her body moved with purpose until she suddenly found herself in front of the Purple Lantern. The restaurant was closed, but she saw Warren Peace inside cleaning up. Quietly, she stood by the door, watching him clean. It was comforting to watch someone do something so unrelated to Will. Warren touched her in a way that no one she had ever met had. His strength of spirit and glowering intensity were admirable, even if they were misplaced, and drew her to him. His body moved fluidly as he washed tables. His visage was so calmly and stoically beautiful that Layla wished that she knew him better. He was so much more than the label he gave himself at Sky High. She was embarrassed to think of her preconceived notions of him.

She was so mesmerized that when he came toward the door to leave, she completely forgot how strange it would be to find her staring at him that she crouched abruptly and grew a bush around herself.

The door jingled as he exited and Layla could see his black shoes. He stopped for a moment and Layla held her breath. "Hey, Hippie. No offense, but your disguise isn't as effective as you might think."

Layla groaned quietly and revealed herself. "Was I that obvious?" she asked.

Warren looked at her with an expression of amusement. "Transparent." He started walking again. "You know Stronghold was just in here waiting for you. Called you just about a thousand times." He stopped walking and turned back toward her. "Are you going to follow me or just stand there?"

Layla hadn't realized that she hadn't moved. She let a little "Oh!" escape and then caught up with Warren as he resumed walking.

They walked side-by-side in silence for a bit until Warren said, lacking any subtlety whatsoever, "So what did he do?"

"It's more of what he didn't do." Layla inhaled slowly and closed her eyes in order to keep from crying and falling into a ball of hysterics again. "He doesn't like me. He doesn't want anything to do with me. A—and he's too good a guy to tell me. You know, I could take it. I know I'm just a sidekick. I'm—I'm holding him back. I am. Gwen was right about that."

"Gwen Grayson is a heinous bitch."

Layla gasped. She wasn't sure if her reaction was because of Warren's bluntness or because it seemed like such a foreign concept. "What? I mean, everyone loves her!"

"Doesn't stop her from being a bitch. She's two-faced. At least I'm open about hating everyone. She looks nice and all, but she will rip any opponent to shreds. Will was stupid to fall for her. And you're stupid to think that you're less than her."

Layla looked at Warren wordlessly. From the time that they had spent trying to make Will jealous, she'd grown to appreciate Warren in ways she hadn't before conceived. He was good conversation, usually, and was more insightful and kind-hearted than he would ever let on.

"So," he continued, "Are you going to give Stronghold another chance?"

Layla bit her lip. "I don't know." She sighed. "I don't think I can."

"You know, he's not going to Homecoming. I assume he broke off his date with Gwen after you and Technobitch had your fight."

"Really?" Layla said, trying to kill the joy that was bubbling in her chest.

"And I also told him you like him."

That stopped Layla in her tracks. "What?! Warren! What were you thinking?!"

"Stronghold is as blind as a bat. He needed the encouragement. Plus I got to see him suffer under the knowledge that he may have ruined the greatest thing that could ever happen to him."

Layla didn't know how to respond. She was so angry, hurt, and hopeful at the same time. Maybe Will deserved another chance. Maybe she should go now, call him, fix this. But the moment the thought crept in, she slammed it down. No. Will had gone too far this time. She couldn't take another rejection. She just couldn't. She couldn't. She couldn't. Her head was spinning. She couldn't.

It wasn't until she felt herself fall into Warren that she realized that she had started crying again. She didn't even remember bridging the distance between them. All she knew was that she was crying and that Warren was tentatively wrapped his arms around her, holding her as her body shuddered with tears. He was strong in the traditional sense and for the first time that entire night, Layla felt safe.

In the same way that she was unaware of physically moving into Warren's embrace, she was equally unaware of what led her into his passionate kiss.

There was a moment when everything felt just right. His lips on hers, the mindlessness of it, the simple and utter perfection. Everything else was so far from her thoughts. Her doubts, her fears. Layla felt faint. Her body melted—she was literally weak at the knees—and she couldn't seem to put a single coherent idea together other than—oh goodness...

And then all the rightness of it felt wrong. The doubts came. She was tossing away a lifelong dream for a momentary fling of passion. It was then she opened her eyes and disentangled herself from Warren Peace's embrace.

Warren looked startled, his hand running through his long hair nervously. "Sorry," he mumbled, "I didn't mean to—"

"No." Layla tried to contain herself. "No, you did nothing wrong. I mean—"

"Stronghold." The word came out bitterly, with a harsh edge that frightened her.

The tears for the third time that night were beginning to form in Layla's eyes and she couldn't stop them. "I didn't mean for any of this to happen, Warren," she whispered.

For a few seconds, he looked uncomfortable and angry. But just as quickly as his anger had appeared, it vanished. He pulled her into his embrace, holding her as the tears fell. As he brushed the drops away from her cheeks with his thumbs, the water sizzled and dissipated, evaporating into steam. The heat on her skin was luxurious, but felt so wrong.

She had been waiting for Will to notice her, not to attract the fiery rebel who she'd reluctantly conned into her plan. Her feelings for Will were not gone. She'd loved him for so long that so much of her heart would be forever devoted to him. Will was so charmingly naïve and tried so hard to do the right thing. That's what she loved about him. He was upstanding even when he was a jerk.

She couldn't stop crying. What was she doing? She was being held by Warren Peace, Will's "archenemy." His antithesis. Everything she never wanted and never considered. Despite all that, however, her heart experienced a different yearning. In Warren she found something she'd never felt. Heat. Passion. Fire. In not looking for anything but a way to get back at Will, she had fallen for the one person who she thought she never could. In retrospect, she had been attracted to Warren since their first encounter at the Purple Lantern, but had brushed it aside because she was convinced she loved Will. She ignored Warren's beautiful soul and handsome image in order to obsess over Will's ignorance.

Suddenly it was not just her tears that began to sizzle but her skin. She flinched away from his touch and looked up into his eyes, which were pained. And then she did the one thing she thought she wouldn't do. "I choose you, Warren." Her voice was surprisingly strong. She forced a laugh. "Screw Will Stronghold. He doesn't deserve me."

"Layla," her name was sweet on his lips, "You're not thinking straight."

"For the first time in my life, I think I am," she said. "Please. I don't want to have to convince you that you're better than Will."

A small smile curved up at the edges of Warren's lips. "I don't deserve you," he admitted.

"Oh, but you do," Layla said. And with that, she kissed him, desperately hoping that what she said was true.

A/N: I'm pretty sure this'll be a two-parter, but we'll see. Please Read and Review and tell me what you think!