"Ok Layla, lets go." Warren said, shaking his head. "You wanna talk about m welcome home party huh?"

"Not quite." She replied sourly. She met Warrens gaze for a moment before looking away, focusing on the people around them. "That would kind of imply that you're welcome."

"Whoa!" Warren chuckled, throwing his hands up in mock defense. "When did you grow a spine flower power?"

"About the same time you decided to screw Will over."

Warren hadn't expected to be welcomed back with open arms, but he defiantly wasn't prepared to deal with Laylas attitude right now. Around them students were mingling, glancing over, waiting for some kind of action before classes began. Layla looked around again, before motioning for Warren to follow her.

They walked quickly in silence to behind one of the buildings. Warren smiled fondly, remembering all of the times he spent hiding out here instead of sitting through another boring class..

"Ok, so what do you want? To chew me out? Cuz I gotta say, I'm not interested." Warren demanded, reaching into his jacket pocket for a cigarette.

"Why are you here?"

"Obviously I'm here trying to get a quality education."

"You know that's not what I mean."

Warren sighed and rolled his eyes.

"Is it really any of your business Layla?"

"Yeah, it's my business. You're not the one who had to help Will get his life started again, to watch him suffer for months while he was looking for you! You have no idea how much you hurt him. You make me sick." She spat. The venom in her words shocked Warren. He hadn't expected anyone to be this direct with him.

"Layla... I know..."

"No!" she interrupted, looking angrier than Warren had ever seen her. "You have no fucking clue how bad it was."

Warren stood silent, too shocked by Layla swearing to react at all.

"Warren, he couldn't sleep, couldn't even eat. He was a total mess, completely withdrawing from the world. He's only just starting to pick himself back up again."

She sighed, her anger fading slightly into weary disappointment.

"The best thing you can do now is leave Warren." She did and turned away. As she was leaving, Warren called out to her to wait.

"What?" She said, turning around slowly.

"I'm not leaving again, that's never gonna happen. I'm back for good and I'm back for Will."

"I'm not happy about it."

"You don't have to be, you just have to stay out of my way."

Warren threw his cigarette to the ground and stomped away.

-

After convincing one of the bus drivers to fly him back down to the city below, Warren sat outside his home, absent mindedly burning an intricate pattern on the deck. He smiled as he remembered how easy it was to intimidate the bus driver into flying him home. It was good to know he was still frightening to some people.

Warren sighed gruffly, running his hand through his hair. It was good to get away from all of the questioning stares he had gotten at school, that he would no doubt have to get used to, but being at home was when the problems really started.

Warren didn't have any friends, not anymore anyway, and without having to work, he had a lot of time to fill. He hadn't always felt the need to fill his life with friends, certainly not within the last two years, where he had lived in near solitude, but until recently, he had never realized just how much they meant to him.

With three full says until he started back at school, he was finally starting to understand how lonely he was. He had already tried to distract himself by cleaning his entire house from top to bottom and it was still only two in the afternoon.

He thought about going to Wills house to wait for him to get home, but even Warren himself knew that doing so wouldn't be the best idea right now. He wasn't quite ready to go into full stalker mode just yet.

Still, he decided, it couldn't hurt to just drive past.

-

An hour later, and after several trips past Wills house, Warren gave into temptation and parked across the street. He had only been sitting there for a few minutes when a gentle tapping on the passenger side window snapped his thoughts back to reality. Warren turned slowly to the window, mentally cursing whoever had interrupted his concentration, right in the middle of his favorite reconciliation fantasy.

The person standing patiently next to his car was not who he was expecting to see. He got out of the car and slowly walked over to the passenger side, ready to accept whatever angry rant was coming his way.

"It's good to see you again Mrs. Stronghold." Warren mumbled uneasily, extending his hand to her.. Surprisingly for Warren, Josie pulled him into a tight hug.

"It's so good to see you Warren!" She exclaimed as she released him. For such a small woman, she was unusually strong.

Warren took a slight step backwards, stunned. He had been expecting a similar reception to the kind Layla had given to him. The last people Warren had expected to be glad of his return were either of Wills parents.

"Oh Warren, don't look so terrified!" she said, still smiling. "Hey, nobodies home and I really wanted a chance to talk to you, why don't you come in?"

"Um, alright." He agreed uncertainly. He locked the car and followed Josie across the street and into the Strongholds home. They walked straight into the kitchen and sat at the counter. Warren was surprised with how at home he felt after all this time. The family had often gathered in the kitchen to talk while Josie prepared the evening meal, back when Warren was still considered part of the family.

"So you're really back then?" She asked, arching an eyebrow slightly, conveying the real meaning behind her words.

"Yeah, I'm not going anywhere again." He assured her.

"I suppose you were expecting a fight when you saw me?"

"Yeah." Warren admitted, chuckling slightly. "You're definitely the first person that's been happy to see me."

"Well, I've been waiting for you to come back for a while now. I knew you wouldn't stay away forever."

"But aren't you angry at me?" He asked, barely able to look her in the eye as the words tumbled out.

"I was at first, I have to admit. But you became like a second child to me Warren. I couldn't stay mad at you."

Warren smiled a little. He had always liked Josie a lot, she was one of the most genuinely kind people he had ever met.

"So, you're going back to school?" she asked.

"Yeah. I figure it's about time for me to get something right... finish what I started, you know?"

Josie nodded before reaching over and taking placing a hand on Warrens shoulder.

"And would I be right in guessing that's not the real reason you came back to Maxville?"

"You wouldn't be wrong." He replied coyly, uncertain of home much to give away. Josie had accepted the relationship he had with Will easily, so there was nothing to say she didn't feel the same way about the relationship Will now shared with Daniel.

"I see." she said, pausing for a moment before she burst into laughter.

"Well I know it's a long shot but..."

"No no Warren!" She interrupted, gasping for breath as her laughter faded "I was just laughing at the way things seem to turn out. Who needs soap operas?"

Warren smiled warmly, relief flooding his body.

"You know Will is with someone else now don't you?"

"Yeah...but..."

"You're hoping Will will choose you?"

"Kind of. I tried living without him, but it really didn't work. I was stupid to think my life could be anything without him. I know it's not very likely, but I really have nothing left to lose, so I'm going to give it my best shot."

"Any ideas?"

"Not yet. I was kind of hoping my good looks would get me what I wanted but..." he joked, underplaying the real concern he felt. "Do you... I mean, would you object?"

"No." She answered immediately. "Steve might, but he would come around. I do like Daniel, really. But as much as I try, I don't see him in Wills future. I know it's not really my place to tell you this, but if I leave it to the two of you, who knows what could go wrong."

Warren laughed again. It felt so easy to be around Josie. This was probably the longest conversation he had had with anyone since he left.

"Warren... I really think you two belong together. You've really messed things up, but I know you already know that."

Warren nodded, looking down at the counter top.

"But, I also know that when true, real love is involved, you can fix anything."

Warren looked up at Josie, ready to thank her, when the clock behind her caught his attention. They had been sitting talking for longer than he had thought. It wouldn't be long until Will would be home. Josie followed his gaze and frowned slightly at the time.

"I'd better get going. I need to figure out my plan before Will sees me again." He said as he stood. "Thank you Mrs. Stronghold."

"Of course Warren. I'm a mother, meddling is what I do."

"I hope I'll be seeing you again soon."

-

Warren laughed. He has been home for only a few minutes and was only just getting over the shock of the conversation he had had with Wills mother. More than ever, he felt like coming home was the right thing to do, and he knew that he would stop at nothing to get Will back.

As he poured himself a glass of water, a plan began to form in his mind. All he really had to do was remind Will of what they had together before, and assure him that this time it was forever. He knew that Daniel wouldn't be to hard to deal with in comparison to gaining Wills trust and he was fully prepared to be as aggressive as he needed to get Daniel out of the picture.

-

AN: Hey, had a little break, but I'm back now. Totally not going to let my "little breaks" go for as long as they used to, I promise.