Sky High

Warren Peace's Undoing

Disclaimer: I only own Anna, and her family and the plot that is it, cheers.

Summary: Both with destructive powers, both with harsh fathers. Both are quiet and reserved, they keep to themselves at school, but both have extreme powers. Fire and ice, Ying and Yang, the best of both worlds. But whatever way you spin it, the only way to keep from falling is to hold on, to each other.

'Goodbye Warren.' His mother, Juanita Peace kissed his cheek as she ushered her seventeen-year-old son out the door to his first day of his junior year at Sky High.

'Bye Mom.' He replied as he kissed her temple and gave her a one armed hug before running out the door towards the bus.

'I'm going!' called Anna as she pulled her long brown hair away from her pretty face. No one answered her and Anna supposed that she should have been used to that by now, considering that she knew they didn't care, she wasn't sure why she half expected them to.

'Bye.' She whispered as she shut the door behind her. She headed down to the bus stop and could feel the tears building behind her eyes, she would never cry, though. This was her first day and she wanted it to be a good one, but things hardly ever went her way. She managed to blink back the tears just as the bus pulled up in front of her.

Warren looked up from his book as the bus made an unexpected stop. The girl that walked onto the bus was one that no one had seen before. She was devastatingly beautiful, her hair a long chestnut brown, her eyes a deep and clear sapphire blue. She wore dark, tight jeans and a black t-shirt layered over a blue long sleeve shirt that matched her eyes perfectly. Black converse, that looked rather beat up, encased her feet. She walked with an unknown confidence towards the back of the bus and sat in the empty seat across the aisle from Warren.

Warren watched her for a minute, taking in every detail, from the scuffed shoes on her feet to the perfect line of black eyeliner around her blue eyes. Then he went back to his book, his interest and curiosity satisfied.

Anna looked over at the boy reading and made an instant judgment, something that she was known famously for, she did not like him. She sighed before looking down at the chipped black polish on her fingers and decided that she'd have to pick up some more on her way home, if only to prolong the inevitable, that she would have to go home.

Warren felt her gaze on him but he refused to acknowledge her, he didn't know her. Now that he thought about it, he had never seen her in school before. Although, she looked too old to be a freshman, she looked his age. Maybe she was new? He was tempted to ask, but he did have an image to uphold.

'Miss Serona!' Principal Powers swooped in on the new girl before she'd taken two steps off the bus.

'Anna.' Murmured the girl in return.

'Anna, of course, why don't you come with me and we'll get you settled.'

Anna didn't respond. Principal Powers gave her a quick smile that wasn't returned.

'Right, c'mon.' she ushered Anna towards the school. Warren watched her leave and made the rash decisions that he was known for, he didn't like her.

'Hero or sidekick?' called Coach Boomer. Anna rolled her eyes, she did not care. She dodged the car that threatened to crush her, when Boomer turned to say something that Anna was sure was scathing she cut him off.

'Can I just show you, or are you intent on killing me?' she asked him with a savage politeness.

'Show me.' Replied Boomer.

Anna looked at him and then at the sea of freshmen in front of her. She sighed and blew her bangs out of her eyes before holding her hands out and freezing Boomer's legs in a solid block of ice. She let him stand there for a moment or two, but melted the ice back to water before he caught a cold.

'Hero.'

Anna walked to lunch, her eyes caught a small table in the corner and she sat there, by herself, just the way she liked it. She set her backpack before her on the table and pulled out her sketchpad. She flipped towards the middle, past the portraits of her old friends and of her younger sister, and the one of her mother that was as pristine as the woman herself, to a blank page. She pulled out her pencil and looked around for a good subject. Her eyes caught a girl that had pink streaks in her hair and she set to work, finding her subject something interesting.

'Will, who's that?' asked Zach as he caught the new girl's form crossing the cafeteria.

'Dunno. Never seen her before, but then again, Sky High is pretty big.' Replied Will as the pair sat next to their respective girlfriends.

'Boys, don't stare, it isn't nice.' Admonished Layla, Will's girlfriend, as she caught the boys' stares.

'How can we help it, she is absolutely gorgeous.' Replied Zach, oblivious to the fact that Magenta, his girlfriend, could hear him. She pinched his arm and glared at him and then at Will, but before she could say anything, which was sure to bring the two boys in a couple of notches, Warren interrupted.

'Who's gorgeous?' he asked as he sat down on his side of the table. He let the younger kids sit with him, truth be told he kind of enjoyed it, but he refused to let them sit near him.

'That girl over there, I've never seen her before.' Answered Zach, forgetting that such comments would get him pinched if he wasn't careful.

Warren followed the younger boy's gaze and did a small, almost unnoticeable, double take.

Layla and Magenta exchanged significant looks. Ever since Warren and Sophia Freeze had broken up over the summer, he'd been a little down. They'd been looking for a new girl for their friend and they liked the way he looked at the brunette in the corner.

'Do you know her Warren?' asked Layla subtly and Warren shook his head.

'Don't know her, but she's new, Principal Powers swooped in on her so fast I'm surprised that her head didn't spin.'

Warren watched the new girl for a moment before looking back at the two girls in front of him, who were smiling and giggling.

'What?' he asked them irritably.

'Nothing.' Replied Magenta as she shook her head. Layla let a real laugh escape her lips before she slapped a hand over her mouth and looked down at her lap. Magenta was barely able to contain herself when Layla lost it and Warren felt fire lick at his wrists.

'What?' he asked again and the two girls shook their heads simultaneously.

'Nothing, Warren I promise.' Answered Layla, and although she had stopped laughing her eyes gave her away. Warren rolled his eyes and looked down at the book in his lap. He was starting to get a little tired of the hippie.

Lunch was uneventful until a clatter of chairs was heard and a nightmare was realized. Principal Powers, in her infinite wisdom of pure stupidity, had allowed Lash and Speed, and Penny back in school after the Royal Pain incident and Lash was currently bothering the new girl.

He'd wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her over to him, her chair clattered to the floor behind her. Anna looked rather bored with the situation until Speed grabbed hold of her sketchpad and started to flip through it. Anna's eyes flashed and Speed was a block of ice before he could say anything. Lash opened his mouth to say something only to find Anna's fist in his face, and as he recoiled from the powerful punch, his nose bleeding freely, Anna turned scooped up her sketchpad and spun around once more, freezing Lash to the cafeteria floor.

She looked between the two blocks of ice and was intent on leaving them like that when Penny blocked her path back to her isolated table. Anna stopped before she ran into the girl, but Penny surrounded her with at least six copies of herself. Anna watched the ring of cheerleaders around her and sighed. She gently placed her sketchpad on the floor by her feet and turned to the original copy.

'What do you want?' her voice was low, and harsh.

'You shouldn't treat people that way.' Sing-songed Penny in answer. Anna's eyes flashed again.

'You should mind your own damn business, I wasn't bothering anyone, they started the whole damn thing and I'm sorry if I'm the only one with enough power to finish it.' Her voice was cool, but her face betrayed her obvious anger at the kids for not just leaving her alone. Didn't anyone understand that they were safer leaving her alone?

'Nasty little thing aren't you?' asked Penny. Anna rolled her eyes.

'I'll take that as a compliment.' and she froze two of Penny's clones. The other four, along with the original came at her all at once and Anna ducked low, avoiding the punches that came her way.

Warren watched her freeze Lash and Speed and smiled, maybe his first judgment was wrong, she had handled that better than he thought she would. When Penny surrounded her, his eyebrows flew up; seven against one was unfair odds. Who the hell did these people think they were?

He watched as the sophomores at his table all sat in quiet shock as Penny surrounded the new girl and Warren half stood, his hands catching flames. But Anna seemed to be able to handle herself rather well. She dodged the first couple of punches and froze two in her first move, then another two, leaving only three for her to take care of. She froze the last two clones, and everybody expected her to freeze the real Penny, but instead she pulled back an icy fist and sent the cheerleader through the window and onto the school grounds.

'Anyone else?' she asked very calmly, looking around the silent cafeteria. She sighed and unfroze Lash and Speed.

'Didn't think so.' She sat back at her table, sketchpad in hand. Her eyes were still flashing and Warren caught them with his own still on fire. A sparkle of electricity passed between the two but Anna looked away and Warren smirked as he extinguished the flames on his wrists and sat back down.

'Warren, what were you doing?' asked Layla, her eyes sparkling as she caught him in his original idea of going over to help the new girl with Penny before it became apparent that she could handle herself rather well.

'Nothing, hippie.' He replied as he picked his book back up and burrowed his nose in it until the bell rang to go to their next class. He watched the new girl out of the corner of his eye and committed every detail of her to memory as she headed to her next class, the students around her parting like the red sea, like they used to do for him until Homecoming last year. He still didn't like her.

Anna stalked to her last class, she was not happy and she didn't care who knew it. Principal Powers had completely chewed her out for defending herself and Anna had shouted herself hoarse trying to defend her actions. Principal Powers refused to acknowledge that Lash, Speed and Penny were hopeless cases and Anna was lucky to escape free of any real punishment.

She didn't open the door to Hero Terminology quietly, although class had already started.

'Hey, who are you?' asked the teacher, Mrs. Turner, obviously frazzled at the interruption. Anna tossed her the note from Principal Powers and calmly sat in the only empty seat, right next to Warren Peace.

'Sorry I'm late.' She deadpanned.

'Miss…' Mrs. Turner looked down at the note, 'Serona.'

'Anna.' Was the snapped reply.

'Anna, welcome to Sky High.'

No response.

'Why don't you stand up and say something about yourself.'

Anna's stoic face never changed and she cracked her gum loudly before answering.

'How bout I don't?' she said with a sickening sweetness that had the class fluttering for a moment before Mrs. Turner could get them to settle.

'Well, thank you for that Anna.' She was obviously not used to a student ignoring a request. 'Now back to…'

Anna stopped listening.

Warren watched as the door slammed open and in walked the beautiful new girl. He knew she was too old to be a freshman. As Mrs. Turner floundered at the interruption, the girls tossed her a note, pretended to be sorry for about half a second before sitting in the only empty seat, right next to him. Normally, someone invading his personal space would be enough to piss him off, but the fact that she did it without so much as a glance his way, that was just ridiculous. Kids were always afraid of him, and she didn't seem to be. And since he didn't know why he cared so damn much just added to his now pissy mood.

'Anna.'

Anna, he liked her name, it was pretty. His anger elevated as he realized that he was starting to sound like Stronghold.

Anna felt the air around her stiffen and then warm drastically. She looked over at the boy next to her, and instantly guessed his power.

'Hey, Pyro, cool power and all, but think you could take it down a notch or two, I'd rather not be sweating.' Her tone was polite, and not savagely so like when she had spoken to their teacher, but that just seemed to further his building rage and without meaning to his hands burst into flames and his desk caught on fire.

To his immense surprise, Anna didn't jump away with a scream, like he'd expected her to. She very calmly held out her hand and he watched in fascination, as his destructive flames became ice.

'Mr. Peace!' Mrs. Turner snapped.

Both his and Anna's heads snapped to attention.

'To Principal Powers' office!'

'But…'Anna started to defend him but Mrs. Turner cut her off.

'But nothing, to the Principal's office Mr. Peace.'

Warren was used to this, but that didn't stop him from slamming his books and his desk and finally the door as he left the room, fire licking at his palms. Anna watched him go in disbelief; he wasn't even going to try to defend himself.

'But…' she tried again.

'No more interruptions Miss Serona please go back to following in the book.' Snapped the teacher, but Anna wasn't backing down on this one.

'But he didn't…'

'Miss Serona, no more.'

'But you have to listen to…'

'To detention.'

Anna paused, her breathing heavy and blood still pounding in her ears.

'Excuse me?'

'To detention, Mr. Johnson, will you escort her there please?'

Johnson was a tall lanky boy with sandy hair and sharp grey eyes. Anna stood up in anger and slammed everything in her path as she followed her classmate out the door. They walked down the hallway in silence, Anna fuming and Johnson too scared of the beauty behind him to try and make conversation.

'Here.' He opened the door for her and Anna took in the all white room. Inside was Warren, who looked up in surprise. Anna walked in, slamming the door behind her, ignoring the fact that she almost took Johnson's nose off in the process.

'What are you doing in here?' asked Warren in surprise. Anna was slightly startled at the beauty and richness in his deep voice. She was quiet for a minute.

'Defending you.' She snapped when she had found her voice again.

'What?' he was still surprised and Anna made the completely correct assumption that he wasn't used to people caring about him.

'Defending you. I tried to tell that…that…woman it was an accident but she didn't want to hear it. Apparently she thinks that you just like to set desks on fire.' She said this all in one quick and slightly angry breath.

'What makes you think that it was an accident?' he asked her, his voice low. He had a reputation to uphold and she was tearing right through it.

'Please.' She rolled her eyes, ' I do not believe that you did it on purpose. When you have element powers like we do, emotions run high and control is difficult to manage.'

Warren stood and walked towards her, she took a step back for every step that he took towards her, until he had her pinned against the wall, his arms on either side of her head, boxing her in.

'You aren't afraid of me.' It was a statement.

'Not really.' She shrugged.

'Why?' a question.

'You aren't as scary as you'd like to think.'

He leaned in further and she gulped audibly.

'Sure about that?'

Anna found herself unable to breath when they locked eyes. She didn't know why she'd never noticed how gorgeous he was. Of course, she'd only seen him twice, but as it was, her brain could not come up with one reason why she hadn't noticed.

'Yeah.' She shook herself out of her fog, 'I'm pretty damn sure.' She quipped as she shoved him off of her.

Warren took a few steps back, his breathing a bit harsh, and fire itching at his palms for a completely different reason than anger.

'You okay?' she asked him when she caught the look on his face.

'Fine.' He managed as he returned to his book and his seat.

Anna seemed just as affected by their "showdown" and slid down the wall behind her, sitting, her knees tucked up to her chin.

'You okay?' he asked her.

'Fine.' She replied, but he didn't believe her anymore than she had believed him. She reached inside her backpack and pulled out her sketchpad and a pencil. He watched as she flipped towards the middle and then started sketching. She glanced up at him and raised an eyebrow in question. He sent a glare her way before looking back to the book in his hands, but he was no longer reading the words on the page before him. He could feel her sapphire eyes on him, but he refused to acknowledge her.

Anna would periodically look up at him to make sure her sketch was accurate. She couldn't do him justice, of that she was sure, but there was something about Warren Peace that captivated her. Something about him, his eyes, that made something stir deep within her stomach. She moved her pencil in smooth, sure and even strokes. His eyes took shape first and then the contours of his high cheekbones and firm mouth. As the picture took better shape she realized something. He had stopped turning pages in his book. She looked up only to lock gazes with him again and found that again, he stole her breath away. When she finally got it back she felt resentment rip through her chest. Who the hell did he think he was, to make all the walls she'd spent so long building just come crashing down so fast?

'What?' her annoyance shown through to her voice.

'Nothing.' He answered in the same tone and Anna rolled her eyes before going back to her sketch.

'What are you doing?' he asked her. She glanced up at him then back to the paper in front of her.

'Sketching.'

'Sketching what?' he wanted answers.

'Just sketching.' Was the curt reply and Warren was glad that the detention room neutralized powers; otherwise the desk he was currently at would have been ash.

'Just sketching what?' he asked her, not letting up.

'Well, right now it isn't finished. Maybe if you're a good boy I'll let you see it when it is.' Her answer was curt and dripping with sarcasm. Warren just glared in answer and Anna groaned.

'Whatever.' She rolled her eyes and went back to her sketch. Warren, in turn, went back to his book.

It had been a good hour of complete and uncomfortable silence. Anna had finished her sketch but wasn't happy with it and was trying to figure out what was wrong with it. It was her best portrait to date and it did look just like the real Warren Peace, but something about it was just wrong. Then she saw it, she hadn't capture his eyes, the beauty and deepness the small lick of flame that always existed in them. So with a sigh, she started erasing. While erasing she felt his gaze upon the top of her head. She looked up and for the third time he made it difficult for her to breathe. This time he held her gaze, she wanted to look down, look anywhere but at his gorgeous eyes, but she found it impossible for her to look anywhere else. She couldn't look away.

'Okay…' Principal Powers entered the room and both teenagers looked up in surprise. Sensing that she had interrupted something significant, but not exactly sure what she paused before continuing.

'Time to go, Miss Serona, not the best way to start your first day here.' Anna rolled her eyes and stalked out the door past her principal.

Warren watched her go, a pensive look on his face. When Principal Powers started in on him he hurried to his feet and out the door. He caught up to Anna in the hall, but she ignored him and he found that it didn't really bother him, this silence, unlike the one before, was comfortable. When they reached the bus that would take them home, neither said a thing as Anna entered first and took the same seat that she had that morning. Warren sat across the aisle from her, just like that morning.

The bus stopped for Anna and she got off, looking back only once to give Warren a smile so small and so fast that he wasn't sure if he'd imagined it or not.

Anna walked down the street, towards the corner store with a smile. She had a feeling that she was going to be causing some real trouble for Principal Powers, she did not like this woman in the least little bit and she did not care who knew it either.

'Anna, here for more nails polish?'

'Yes ma'am.' Replied Anna with a wide smile. She liked Yoko, the woman who ran the store just down the street from her new house and her sister, Kumiko, who owned the Paper Lantern, the local Chinese restaurant.

'Here, we just get new color.' Yoko reached behind her and pulled out a cherry red. 'It called Red Dragon.'

'Sorry, Yoko, it is absolutely gorgeous but I need some more black.'

Yoko clucked her tongue and shook her head.

'Girl this pretty should be wearing pretty color, not black all the time.'

Anna just smiled and shook her head, trading a five for the bottle of black polish.

'Keep the change, Yoko.'

'You come back soon.' Called Yoko after her as Anna headed back towards her house, waving a hand in goodbye.

She was half way to her house when she noticed that it seemed darker than it should be for her to have just gotten out of school. She looked down at her watch and saw that it was already five-thirty. With a strangled gasp she took off running down the street. She was so late, and in such deep trouble.

She tried her hardest to sneak in quietly and up the stairs, but when she passed the living room she heard him.

'Anna?' it was her dad. A fallen superhero, his name was Joshua Serona, also known as Star's Fire. He could control plasma, or had been able to but when Anna's mother died giving birth to her younger sister Charlotte, his powers just seemed to disappear.

'Hi Dad.'

'Don't hi Dad me, where the hell were you?' he asked her dangerously low and Anna slowly set down her things.

'At school Dad, I accidentally missed the bus, I'm sorry.' Her story made sense and for a second he seemed to buy it, but then he set the bottle of beer in his hand down and Anna swallowed hard.

'Your principal contacted me, you got into a fight and then got detention.'

'Yes sir.'

'And then you come in here and lie to me about why you're late? Do you have any idea how much you inconvenienced me?' he asked her and Anna shut her eyes for a moment and then her breath caught when she heard Charlotte come running down the stairs.

'Anna, Anna you're home!' she called happily, but paused on the last step when she saw her Dad's face. For being only seven years old Charlotte had a wonderful sense of what people were feeling, much like her mother before her.

'I had to pick Charlotte up and then I had to make dinner and I missed a very important phone call from Dan about a job that I could have gotten if you hadn't been so late.'

'I'm sorry.' Anna could feel the tears starting to build, but she kept them at bay, crying was weakness.

'You are not, you worthless little bitch.' He raised an arm and backhanded her. Anna lost her balance and tumbled to the hardwood beneath her.

'And look at this.' He bent down to scoop up her bag from the corner store. 'You certainly had enough time to go get more nail polish but not to take care of your worthless little sister. How interesting.'

'I like Anna's nail polish.' Charlotte piped up and Josh started to advance on her. Seeing her little sister in the line of fire Anna went into action.

'I shouldn't have to take care of her you're her father. It's your job you stupid, drunk son of a…'he didn't let her finish. He kicked her and she grunted in pain as she instinctively curled into the fetal position to protect herself. He continued to kick her and stomp her until she finally cried out in pain, and when she did he picked her up by the collar and beat her head against the wall until she lost consciousness. She tumbled to the floor, blood staining the wood beneath her.

'Go to bed Charlotte!' he barked and Charlotte did as she was told. She bolted up the stairs, her long blonde hair whipping around the corner.

Anna woke up and it was still dark, she was covered in blood, dry and otherwise. She looked down at her watch and saw that it was four in the morning. She sighed and tried to stand only to find that she was still too weak. She'd lost quite a lot of blood and it had seeped into the floor. She got to her knees and then stood wobbly, using the bloody wall behind her for support. She slowly made her way upstairs, her muscles screaming in protest.

She slipped into her room and turned on the light. She had to shut her eyes for a moment, but then she adjusted and looked at herself in her full-length mirror. She had a black eye and a scrape from her Dad's ring. Her brown hair was caked and matted with dry blood from where he'd hit her off the wall. She slowly lifted the hem of her shirt and was greeted with the sight of her completely black and blue, and slightly green and purple, ribs. She could see marks, cuts from his shoes and she felt the hot tears well up behind her eyes, constricting her throat.

She bit them back and reached for her wall to steady herself. When she'd calmed herself she slowly made her way into the bathroom, grabbing her robe and a towel from the linen closet.

She sat on the edge of the tub and turned the water on. She made it warm, not hot, and she put the pressure of the water on as low as it could be. She slowly stripped down and stepped beneath the spray. It took her an hour to wash all the blood out of her hair and off her body. She gingerly washed her face and brushed her teeth before heading back to her room and picking up more long sleeves and jeans. She couldn't risk even the littlest bit of a bruise showing. She hated makeup, but it was necessary now and she did her best to cover up the bruise, and did it rather well. If you hadn't known it was there in the first place, you wouldn't even see it. She got dressed and pulled her hair into a ponytail, and situated her bangs so that they fell in front of her bruised eye for extra protection. She sighed. She was getting way too good at covering her bruises.

She made her way back down the stairs and pulled out a bucket and scrub brush and some bleach. She scrubbed the floor as best she could and cleaned the wall completely. She sighed when she dried the floor and you could still see the rather dark stain. She pulled the area rug further into the corner and covered most of it up. She then took the bucket and scrub brush and cleaned them out well before putting them back. She dragged her backpack over to the table in the dining room and did what little homework she had. She looked down at her watch, it was almost seven. The bus came at seven-fifteen. She quickly put everything away, and double-checked her reflection in the mirror in the foyer. She couldn't really tell the bruise was there and she doubted that anyone was going to be looking hard enough to discover it, so she left the house, her ring of keys in hand. She got to the bus stop just as the yellow vehicle pulled up and she headed straight for the seat she had taken yesterday, across from Warren.

Warren watched as Anna came onto the bus. She was walking kind of slowly and gingerly, almost like she was in pain, and much like he did before he'd gotten complete control over his powers. She looked like she was hurt. She sat across from him again and he chanced a look at her. Her face looked different. He knew the look. It was the same look that his mother had when his dad had been arrested. Fear and happiness all at the same time. And a bruise, a bruise that was rather expertly covered with makeup and hidden by her bangs. Someone had hit her, and hard.

Warren's blood boiled at the very thought. This girl had captured his imagination even though he didn't like her. And the mere suggestion of someone beating her made him angry and he felt his flames lick at his palms before he could reign in his anger. Then a slightly happy thought crossed his mind. Save the Citizen was today and he could take out all of his anger on Speed and Lash, just like it was supposed to be.

Anna got off the bus and walked carefully to her first class. Even breathing was difficult for her and she was very careful not to jar her sides. She slowly sat in her seat and pulled out her notes and a pencil. She sat and waited for class to start, thankful that she sat alone at her table. All she needed was for someone to see her bruises and make them move, again.

The classroom slowly filled and Anna's eyebrows shot up in surprise when Warren entered the room. He wasn't in her class, of that she was sure, so why was he here? Him being there was going to distract her badly, she just knew it.

'Ah, Mr Peace, welcome.' Boomed Medulla, 'please take the empty seat next to Miss Serona…'

'Anna.' She hated the name Serona.

'Anna,' he relented, 'and we'll get started.'

Warren didn't respond and headed to the back of the room and sat right next to her in the only empty seat. He flashed her a grin and Anna's heart dropped somewhere to the vicinity of her knees. The only thing that managed to pierce the fog of her mind was that when Warren Peace smiled the whole world brightened.

She quickly reverted her gaze, well aware of where that train of thought could take her. She could sense the smirk on his lips and felt her blood boil. She didn't like him, she didn't. So why was it that her face felt flushed and she had icicles on the tips of her fingers?

She quickly put her hands in her lap and closed her eyes tightly. She concentrated only on getting her powers under control. This boy (man really, but she wasn't about to admit it, even to herself) got her frazzled. She hated being frazzled. She felt, rather than heard, him chuckle and that only serviced to piss her off more.

'What?' she hissed, and he flashed her another grin.

'Looks like I'm not the only one with control issues.'

She couldn't think of an answer and settled to glare at him. Her look softened a bit though when she saw the amusement in his eyes but she looked away when it turned to concern.

'What happened to your eye?' he asked her, and her stomach dropped dangerously fast.

'Nothing.'

'Liar, you have a bruise.'

She said nothing and prayed to whatever was up there that he'd drop it.

'Well?'

Someone up there hated her.

'Well, what? I'm fine.'

'Liar.'

'Shut up!'

He seemed to listen to her for a while until he looked at her and said, 'Are you okay?'

She felt the tears well up behind her eyes and furiously wiped them away.

'I'm fine.'

He didn't believe her and she knew that, but her prayer was answered and he dropped the subject.

She managed to make it through till lunch without incident and without jarring her sides, for which she was very thankful. She sat at her original table still without a lunch and pulled her sketchpad back out and her pencil. Her blue eyes searching the cafeteria for a new subject to sketch, she finally settled on a couple who were chatting in what she assumed were low voices.

Warren sat at his table and watched Anna out of the corner of his eye. (Actually he was full on staring at her, but he wasn't going to admit that) He was watching her for signs that she was going to break down and he was also checking for any more bruises.

'Warren what are you doing?' asked Layla as she sat down with her salad.

He didn't answer her, he was fascinated by the way her hands moved and the way she bit her lower lip when she drew. She was beautiful, and she captivated him in a way that he couldn't explain, even to himself.

'Warren?' demanded Layla and he turned to look at her.

'What is it hippie?'

'Who are you staring at?' she asked him and he shook his head.

'No one.'

Layla raised an eyebrow in challenge and then looked in the direction that he had been staring into.

'What is it with you guys and that new girl?'

'Her name's Anna.'

'Anna, what is your obsession with her?'

'I don't have an obsession hippie, I just wanna know that she's okay.' He added the last part without thinking and instantly regretted it when he saw Layla's entire face light up.

'You like her.'

'I do not.' He defended as he looked away from the excitable red head.

'Warren, you like her! Go talk to her.'

'No.'

'Why not?'

'She doesn't like me and I do not like her.'

Layla just continued to smile at him and she knew that it was bothering him.

'Stop it hippie.'

'Go talk to her! C'mon Warren, you can't be the unsociable wonder forever.' She replied and Warren knew that there was a truth to what she said but the part of him that still lived in the third grade responded with sticking his tongue out and saying "Can so!"

Layla seemed to know what was going on and just smirked knowingly at him and he glared at her.

'Shut it hippie.'

She took his warning and kept her mouth shut but kept on smirking at the hothead's discomfort. She knew that he felt something for this Anna girl, Warren tended to obsess over things and brood and brood about them until his face seemed to stick that way.

'Well, even if you don't like her, which it is obvious that you do, you keep staring at her like that and people are going to start to talk.'

Warren walked into Save the Citizen with a grim smile on his face. Lash and Speed were definitely playing today, they were Boomer's favorites, and they always chose him to battle, and that was the way he liked it. Lash and Speed were good opponents, even if everywhere else in life they were as dumb as stumps.

Just as he predicted Lash and Speed were playing the villains, and he was a hero against them and he waited without much interest in whom his partner was going to be until he heard the name.

'Anna Serona.'

His heart dropped somewhere to the vicinity of his knees and when he saw her face it dropped to his toes, he could tell that she had been hurt and it showed in the way she walked, she wasn't going to be much help in this fight but he also knew that Lash and Speed wouldn't give a damn especially since she had humiliated them in the cafeteria the other day. They were in for some major trouble, and he could tell that she knew it too.

She stood next to him, one arm wrapped protectively around her ribs even though she tried to make it seem like she could really care less.

Boomer gave them the go ahead and as Speed went to debilitate Warren, Lash grabbed a hold of Anna, and she resisted the urge to cry out when she felt his arm jerk much to forcefully against her bruised ribcage. Warren watched it all happen as Speed started his usual of running around him so fast that he started to choke from lack of oxygen, but this time Warren was prepared and managed to knock him out within seconds. He looked from Anna, who was struggling with Lash and obviously in no condition to win, and the dummy Citizen who was hanging over the mulcher, getting closer and closer to "dying." He made a split second decision and sent a large fireball at Lash, before turning and grabbing the Citizen. He landed gracefully on his feet just in time to see Lash release Anna, who tumbled unceremoniously to the floor and didn't move, as he tried his best to put out his sleeve, which had caught fire.

The buzzer sounded and Boomer announced them the winners as Warren jogged over to Anna and gently placed a hand under her elbow.

'You okay there, Ice Queen?' he asked as he helped her to stand.

'I'm fine.' She replied a bit more forcefully than she intended, but she couldn't risk Warren seeing too much.

'You sure?' he asked her in the same gentle voice and she nodded before looking up at him, and the instant she did she knew it was a mistake. They locked eyes and she lost what little control over her thoughts she had. He smiled gently at her, nothing like the 1000 watt smile he had given her earlier, but a smile none the less, but it disappeared off his face just as quickly as it had arrived when his dark brown eyes noticed her bruise and the scrape from her dad's ring.

'What happened?' he asked her as he ran a thumb over her bruise softly, barely grazing her skin. Anna tried to banish the goose bumps that shot up and down her spine as she jerked her head and her arm out of his grasp.

'I already told you, nothing.' And with that she spun on her heel and walked away from him, never looking back. Warren watched her walk away and promised himself that if he could prove the fact that someone was hurting her then he would do anything and everything within his power to help her.

Warren had been home for at least three hours but he hadn't left his room. He had come in the door and placed his backpack in the hall closet where his mother insist that he keep it and then had gone straight to his room. He had pretended to be asleep when his mother had come up to see if he wanted something to eat and to his immense relief she had just run her fingers through his hair, kissed his forehead and gone back downstairs. She was at her shift at the Paper Lantern right now and the only thing that Warren had managed to get done after she had left was that he had changed into a pair of soft, black sweatpants and tossed the rest of his clothes, including his shirt and socks into the dirty clothes hamper.

He'd been staring at his blood red walls for the past half an hour and he was no closer at figuring out a way to help Anna. He knew that it was ridiculous to assume that she was being beat at home, she could have very well gotten into a fight with someone in her neighborhood and gotten that black eye. Of course, if it had been that innocent then why would she have attempted to cover it with makeup? Maybe she was just ashamed that she had lost the fight. But then there were the bruises on her torso. He hadn't seen them, but he could tell from the way she walked that she had been hurt. He wanted to help her; he wanted that dead look in her eyes to change, to change to the beauty and the light that he had seen when they had been arguing in detention or the classroom.

Anna had gone straight home after school, in no mood for another beating. What she had found where two empty six packs of beer on the floor, her father passed out on the couch and blood on the carpet. Her heart stopped at the dark stain; if she wasn't home then that meant he had gotten to Charlotte. Anna had thrown herself up the stairs and, without knocking, had charged into her baby sister's room. Charlotte had been doing homework at her desk, and there wasn't one hair on her head that had been disturbed. Anna had fallen to her knees next to her sister's chair and thrown her arms around her.

'You okay, baby?' she asked gently and Charlotte giggled.

'Of course I am.'

'Good, how's the homework going?' Anna changed the subject as her heart started its normal pattern.

'Almost done.'

'That's my girl, what do you say to Chinese for dinner, my treat.' Suggested Anna and Charlotte squealed in agreement, the Paper Lantern was her favorite place in the world to eat.

'Okay, you finish that homework and I'll go out and get it, don't leave this room, you hear me?' warned Anna as she stopped at the door.

'Yeah.' Replied Charlotte knowing that if she woke up her father then he's be hung over and angry and there'd be more blood than his spilled.

Anna snuck past her father and out the door a few hours later after she had finished her own homework and started the ten-minute walk to the local Chinese restaurant.

Warren watched as the clock kept ticking and the numbers kept changing. His stomach growled loudly so he headed downstairs and opened the fridge. There was a carton of milk, and some baking soda. Apparently, his mother had forgotten to go to the store and Warren couldn't blame her, she had enough to deal with. So he sighed and trudged his way back up the stairs to change so he could head down the street to the Paper Lantern.

Anna opened the door to the relatively small Chinese restaurant and sighed as she noticed a familiar form at the counter talking to a woman that worked there. Anna straightened her back and headed over to the counter standing right next to the one person she had hoped she wouldn't be seeing any more that day, Warren Peace.

His eyes grew wide as he noticed who was standing next to him. Anna looked worn out and much older than she was.

'Hi, may I help you?' Warren's mother asked as she saw the new customer standing next to her son.

'Yes, my name is Anna Serona I'm here to pick up my order.' Replied Anna politely and Mrs. Peace excused herself to retrieve it, leaving the two teenagers in an awkward silence.

'Hi Anna.' Started Warren and he held his breath as her sapphire eyes locked on his dark brown ones.

'Hi.' She replied with a soft smile that Warren returned. His mother chose to come back at that exact moment and interrupted their little staring contest.

'Here you go.'

Anna smiled at the woman who looked like her son and took the bag and attempted to hand her the twenty in her hand, but Mrs. Peace shook her head.

'Kumiko says it's on the house.' She told her and Anna's eyes widened before filling with tears.

'Tell her thank you.' She replied and Juanita nodded. When she turned back to talking to her son Anna slipped her twenty into the tip jar that sat on the counter and Warren watched it all out of the corner of his eye with a smile.