Summary: Warren only agreed to go to homecoming to make Will jealous, but what happens when emotions are added into the equation?
I couldn't stop thinking about Warren's smile.
It had been days since that day in the cafeteria, yet somehow his face kept invading my mind. He really was quite attractive, now that I thought about it. I shook the thought out of my head and unsuccessfully tried to shift my focus back to my homework, only to start thinking about Warren again. Even the other day when he was burning my hand he looked attractive.
"Ugh, ugh Layla." I slammed my head back onto my pillow and tossed my book aside in frustration. This was not okay. I was definitely tempted to walk over to the Paper Lantern right now, which would probably just make Warren think I was stalking him. I just wanted to see him, Will was the furthest thing from my mind.
I decided I would get off my ass and take a walk, maybe I would stop thinking about Warren, the guy that I wasn't supposed to like this much. I somehow ended up at Will's house, which was surprisingly overfilled with teenagers. I walked through the front door, noticing the immense chaos.
Will was having a party, which he hadn't invited me to. Great, not only did he not like me romantically, he didn't even like me as a friend anymore. I was about to turn around and leave when Gwen caught sight of me.
"Where's Will?" I turned and confronted her.
"Honestly, avoiding you. Look, Will knows you have a crush on him."
"He does?"
"Everyone does. Will's just too nice a guy to tell you he's not interested, not that you can take a hint. I mean, hello? He's going to Homecoming with me. He threw a party, and didn't invite you. You're just embarrassing him. You're just embarrassing yourself."
"Okay, I understand." My voice was quivering and I was angry at how upset I was about this. "And, um, when you see Will again, can you tell him that I never want to talk to him again?"
Gwen put on a fake smile as she said, "I'll give him the message." I had never been more tempted to use my powers to hurt someone, but I pushed the feeling down, knowing that wasn't going to solve anything. I turned to walk out, only to be confronted by Will. I walked straight past him, ignoring him, ignoring the feeling of loneliness that was creeping into my chest.
The moment I got outside the tears finally let out, and I quickly wiped them away as I walked, not even sure where I was going until I found myself standing in front of the Paper Lantern. I sat down on the wooden bench outside, which started to sprout vines immediately. I flew back up, not wanting to end up destroying the bench and was about to walk away when I physically ran into Warren, who appeared to be leaving work.
"Hippie, what are you doing here." I didn't say a word, choosing to wipe away the stray tears still on my cheeks.
"Nothing, it was stupid." I turned to walk away, but Warren grabbed my arm and pulled me back.
"This is because of him isn't it. What did the idiot do now?" I debated whether or not I should tell him and finally sighed and let it all out.
"I was thinking about…stuff…and decided to go for a walk, only to end up at his house. He was having a party and he hadn't even thought to invite me, and then Gwen came up to me and started spewing all this crap about how Will didn't want me anywhere near him, and then I left and started crying and somehow ended up here." I was out of breath by the time I had finished blurting it all out and Warren just gave me a look before breaking into a laugh. I gave him an offended look, making him laugh even harder. It was hard not to smile in response, but I continued frowning at him. He finally settled down and let out a loud breath.
"Hippie, I didn't understand a word you just said." The frown on my face intensified.
"Oh, screw it, you wouldn't care even if you did hear." I knew I was being harsh, but I had been hurt too many times tonight. The frown on my face turned into a scowl and Warren's face was suddenly oddly serious.
"I do care, I don't know why, but I do." I looked up at his face and bit my lip, wondering if he had thought about me like I'd been thinking of him the last few days. Warren took my hand and started walking, pulling me along, "Come on, I'll drive you home." I tightened my grip on his hand and followed.
"I went to Will's house and Gwen confronted me and told me that Will wasn't interested in me, and that he was too nice a guy to reject me." Warren stopped in his tracks and turned to face me.
"You realize that's complete bullshit, right? Stronghold is too much of a moron to see you like him."
"You know, I'm starting to think I don't…like him, I mean." I looked Warren in the eyes before glancing away, biting my lip again. Warren waited for a second before pulling me along again. When we stopped I was surprised to see a red motorcycle in front of Warren. Of course, he has a motorcycle, as if he couldn't get more attractive. I had always secretly found motorcycles pretty cool and sexy, not that I would ever admit it.
"It matches your personality." I remarked with a small laugh. It was the most 'Warren' thing I had ever seen. Warren said nothing, placing a helmet over my messy pinned curls before sitting down on the bike. He raised an eyebrow when I made no motion to get on, and the look sent a pleasurable tingle down my spine. I quickly snapped out of it and climbed on behind him, wrapping my arms around his muscled torso. He started the bike and revved the engine before we sped away from the restaurant.
My arms tightened around his body as he turned, and I admit that I let out a small squeal of surprise at how exhilarating it felt to be on a motorcycle with Warren of all people. Even he seemed to be having fun with it, making a point to drive fast. By the time we got to my house I was smiling, until I casually tried to get off of the bike and nearly face planted on the road before Warren caught me. I laughed at my disorientation and pulled Warren down to sit with me on the ground.
"Thanks, that was really fun." I was still laughing as I spoke, choosing to lay down on my lawn. The small shrub in the front lawn started to sprout flowers as I calmed down. My powers tended to be harder to control when I was emotional.
"You're a weird one, hippie." I giggled and smiled up at him from where I was laying. He was about to stand up when a vine wrapped around his wrist and pulled him back down.
"Oh god, sorry. I don't know where that came from." I pulled the vine off of him and gently shrunk it back down into the ground, suddenly feeling self-conscious.
"What's up with you? I didn't expect you to be this weak." My mouth flew open at his accusation.
"Excuse me. I'm sorry I can't all be tough and alone all the time, like you." I retorted, swatting his hand away when he tried to help me up.
"Tough and alone is better than weak." My arm shot up and smacked his shoulder before I even realized what I was doing.
"I am not weak, you're weak." Warren looked more amused than annoyed with my anger.
"You're about as threatening as a kitten, hippie," my hand flew out to smack him again, but he caught my arm and pulled me closer to him, "you really don't want to do that."
"Don't tell me what to do." I tried to yank my arm out of his grasp, but he grabbed me by the waist, and suddenly his lips were on mine.
I struggled for a second before melting into his arms. His lips were surprisingly soft and reassuring. I noticed that even his resting temperature was warmer than most, and it was actually really comforting. My hands somehow ended up tangled in his hair while his hands tightly grasped my waist. I was panting when he finally pulled away, and I was pleased at the aroused look in his eyes. He pulled away and before I could say a word he had hopped onto his bike and driven away.
My fingers went to my lips, which were swollen and warm from the attention. Talk about a good first kiss…
I entered my house and closed the door before sinking down to the floor.
What the heck had just happened?