Make a Little Love

Warren

Today was by far the longest day ever. I glanced up at the clock. Wednesdays were usually slow at the restaurant, so I knew the customer flow had stopped. I had about half an hour before the restaurant closed, and before Magenta made her nightly visit. I got a spontaneous idea and went to work to execute it.

I heard Magenta open the unlocked door and pause in surprise since I never left it unlocked this late.

"Hello?" she called. I watched her from the corner in the kitchen where I hid. She walked further into the restaurant and pause when she saw the table I had set for her complete with paper plates, Styrofoam cups, and fortune cookies.

"You hungry?" I asked, stepping out. She turned around. I borrowed my boss' white shirt that he kept in the back and was wearing it untucked with a loosely done tie. There wasn't much I was willing to do with the pants. I went to lock the door.

"Uh, sure," she said sitting down. I sat opposite her and lit the candle between us.

"How long have you been planning this?" she asked.

"Almost half an hour," I replied looking at my nonexistent watch. She laughed.

"I'd like to see what you can do with a little more time."

"Maybe you will." I poured us some tea and broke my chopsticks. Magenta took some of the fried rice. I loved it when a girl knew how to use chopsticks.

"It's good. Did you make this?"

"No, but I did heat it up."

"What's all this about?" she asked waving her hand at the table. I shrugged, still chewing.

"Just wanted to feed you." She grinned.

"You're lucky I showed."

"I know." I saw her smile and look down at her food. "I'm glad you came." We ate quietly; I wasn't huge on eating as you're talking, but I noticed her smile dissolve into a frown. I knew what was on her mind and decided that this night wasn't going to go well if it hung in the air. "Just say it." She hesitated a bit.

"Maybe you should ease up on your sister. You said so yourself that your dad is dangerous. Maybe she did the right thing, turning him in." I leaned back and exhaled sharply. I knew she was right. Despite today's little feud, the real villain in my story was the villain.

"I'll do my best," I offered. She seemed satisfied.

The drive home was comfortable. I held Magenta's hand with an uncharacteristic smile that I couldn't get rid of. I glanced over at her when I could; she was wearing the same smile. I cut the engine and opened her door to walk her to her door.

"So, tonight was fun," she said.

"Yeah, they all seem so with you." She rolled her eyes at me just as I bent low to kiss her mouth, my hand on her cheek. I put my other hand on the small of her back and pulled her closer to me. I pulled back and stole a look at my effect on her. She took a deep labored breath in. I grinned. "I'll see you tomorrow."

"Yeah, tomorrow." She made it into her house and I kept looking back out the door as I made my way to my car.

Karen

Zach and I had been going to rehearsals a few times a week. Now that my power was outed, I was able to fly us from school to home on a big Frisbee-type disk I made. We had a lot of chances to talk and get closer and I could tell he was getting less nervous about being around me.

I saw him looking at me a few times while I was stretching and warming up for the rehearsals while he hung out at the back painting the backdrops. My long hair was done up in a tight bun and I knew my attire was enough to make him nervous again. I mentally patted myself on the back for that. I went up on my pointe shoes and took a balance. I kicked up my leg in a grand battement and then a pas de chat followed by a tombe, chasse, into a ballet walk. I felt so free when I danced and truly happy. I loved it and what it did to me. I heard something drop and looked behind me to see Zach scrambling off his ladder to pick up the paintbrush on the floor. I chuckled to myself and then continued practicing.

"You're really good," Zach said to me while we were walking through the halls after rehearsal. "You seem like a real dancer."

"My mom used to send me for lessons when I was a kid, and then I just practiced in my room."

"It looks like you belong on the stage." I had to admit, I was a sucker for shockingly sweet words. A smile spread on my lips and I grabbed his hand to pull him into a dark and empty classroom. I shut the door behind me and pulled his face to me. Even with my eyes closed, I saw him glowing, literally. I pulled away to see his face. Now he got bold and kissed me again, putting his hands on my shoulders and moving them down my arms. I felt his tongue trying to get through, and I let him in, feeling it with my own. He moaned into my mouth, and that set me off. I felt my breathing get heavier as we kissed. He never told me, but I was pretty sure this was his first kiss as it was mine. After what seemed like hours, we finally pulled away from our kiss and he held me to him. He was just a little bit taller than me, but I fit in the contours of his body just fine.

"Karen, will you be my girlfriend?" he whispered into my ear. It almost seemed silly to ask, but I liked how official he was. I nodded and giggled, putting my hand on the back of his head. I looked straight into his glowing green face and gave him one last kiss before we jumped out of an open window and got caught in a gust of wind.

Warren

I was dying; there was no mistaking it. The doctors tried to pass it off as the flu, but I knew better.

"Stop being so dramatic, Warren," my mom said walking into my room. I guess that groaning I heard in the background was me. "Even heroes can get sick." She laughed at my expense while she fluffed a pillow that made the ringing in my ears worse. "Don't try to move for the next few days and if get even a hint that you powered up while you were sick, you will have to answer to me, boy. You should have enough drugs in you to last the night." She left a tray of crap beside my bed and kissed me on the forehead. I was too weak to care. "You are hotter than usual, Baby. Your sister will be home soon, so please try not to set her on fire when she comes in to take care of you." And she was finally gone. I passed out on my bed and wished the world would end.

I woke up to the feeling of someone poking my face. I groggily opened my eyes to see a big-eyed beauty in my face.

"Sorry, did I wake you?" Magenta asked. I gave a chuckle and rolled onto my back. "Karen let me in."

"Yeah."

"So, the flu." I laughed. "How you feeling?" I was going to tell her how crappy I was feeling, then she put her hand on my face and all of a sudden I was much better.

"I feel good." It wasn't a lie.

"You're burning." She smiled. "More than usual," she had to add in. I rolled my eyes and she put a cold cloth on my head and poured me some water. I tried to focus on her face, but I could feel the medication clouding my thoughts.

"You look so good," I said sleepily. She laughed and held a cup to my mouth, which I took and drained. I touched her cold hand, though mine might have been just really hot. I pulled her arm and she pretended to resist but climbed on top of the blanket beside me. I ran my finger under her chin and started to get closer to her face.

"You better not get me sick, Peace," she playfully threatened. I laughed inches from her.

"And what are you gonna do about it?" She pursed her lips to the side and then shifted to her furry alter ego and ran up my shirt. I wasn't normally ticklish, but being sick made me super sensitive to her feet and nails. I really had to resist from reacting so I didn't roll over and crush her. She scurried up my shirt and stuck her furry head out of the neck and sat on my chest. I saw her rise and fall as I heavily breathed in and out. I gently stroked her fur from her head to her back, staring at her beady eyes as she twitched her nose and whiskers.

"Can you change back?" I requested. If this was supposed to be a moment, there was no way I was going to have it with an animal. She twitched her nose again before scurrying beside me and growing until she was fully human. She lay beside me on my outstretched arm. I guess she realized how close we were on my bed and started to sit up.

"I should go," she said quietly, but I held her with the arm that she leaned on.

"Just stay with me," I said, closing my eyes. The slight adrenaline that pumped through me calmed and my sickness started to take over. My eyes grew heavy and sleep started to get the best of me, even though I wanted to enjoy having Magenta on my bed with me. I was paralyzed, but still conscious when she morphed into a guinea pig and ran across my chest to escape my hold without waking me. I knew she was there, watching me sleep, but I couldn't move. She pulled the blanket up over me and planted a soft warm kiss on my cheek before leaving.

I was itching for lunchtime the day I was back in school. I really wanted to see Magenta. I missed her in the morning and we didn't have PE, which was the only class we were together. I must have looked awkward to anyone who was paying attention because every time I thought about her, I could physically feel me smiling, and the only way to stop smiling was to stop thinking about her. And I really didn't feel like doing that. The bell rang, and I sincerely had to keep myself from sprinting, even skipping, to her locker.

She had just closed the locker door when I got to her. I knew she saw me, but she avoided eye contact with me. Layla seemed bugged, so I ignored her, but I wanted to know what was up with Magenta. Everyone else headed to the cafeteria, but Magenta didn't follow, so I went her way. She was mad, I was pretty sure, though I had to admit I hadn't studied women long enough to really read the emotions too well.

"Magenta," I called after her. She didn't stop, even walked faster outside. "Magenta!" I ran up to her so that I was in the way of where she was heading. She huffed a bit before looking me in the eye. I could have sworn she shot lazers through me for a second.

"I had a little chat with your ex today," she said sharply. Oh, crap. "She's real kind." Okay, I caught the sarcasm. I knew I should be saying some intelligible, but I had nothing. "Why didn't you call her?" I could feel my defenses going up. What the hell was it to her? I wasn't cheating on her, and all that was before eons before her. I looked away, praying my anger wouldn't let me say anything stupid. "She said that everything was going great between you guys, and then one night together and she never heard from you again. Is it true?" I couldn't look at her, so I just nodded my head. I saw her head drop, clutching onto her books even harder. "Is that what you're going to do with me?" she asked quietly. I looked back her. She was still looking down. It seemed so cruel to get mad at something so small and vulnerable. How she had this hold on me, I couldn't tell you, but I didn't want her to be sad.

"Freeze Girl... I don't know, she was just... some girl," I managed to say. Magenta's eyes fluttered upwards, but didn't look at me. "She was cool, but then, it just stopped." Even I knew my words were making much sense, but it was the best way I could explain it. I put my hands on her shoulders and was surprised when she didn't pull away. "I'm sorry. It was not my finest moment, but I really like you and I can only hope that I am man enough to not let you down like that." She sighed and looked up at me.

"I'm not going to have sex with you."

"That's fair."

"And I don't like that you didn't call her back, that bothers me."

"I will send her an e-card." She smiled at my joke, which eased me.

"We're going to slow, so slow you might get bored."

"Bored with a guinea pig shape shifter named after a color between red and purple? I'll take those chances." She laughed again. I took her books from her arms and led her back to the cafeteria.

After lunch, Medulla was doing a science thing with crystals. I took my seat beside my lab partner, Parker. He was just as quiet and disconnected as me, so we got along just fine.

"Hey, what's up?" I asked him with a nod before taking my seat on the stool. He shrugged and showed me an article he was reading.

"Chameleon's is being investigated," he said smugly.

"The hero cop? What for?" We sometimes had random banters like this before dissolving into our own solitudes.

"Class," Medulla addressed in the background, "yesterday, we went through samples of crystals and their properties and how they enhance or hinder powers. But there was one sample we did not show you. Can anyone tell me which it was?" A girl from the corner shot her hand up.

"The Rock. It is a red crystal. It's often confused with ruby because it looks just like it and is often found amongst it."

"Correct."

"Someone leaked a tape of him talking about world domination," my lab partner continued, ignoring the lecture that was obviously going on. I smirked. I wasn't one for current events, but I had to admit that a hero working for the government and talking about world domination was juicy.

"And what is the unique power of the Rock?" Medulla went on. A guy with red curly hair and glasses raised his hand.

"Crystals usually react to a power, but The Rock itself , when there's enough of it, has its own power to give mind control to the person who holds it."

"Excellent."

"So Chameleon is on suspension," Parker continued shaking his head. I think he was talking more to himself than me. He did that sometimes too. For someone I wasn't interested in, he was my kind of friend.

"Now, here we have very small samples of rubies and The Rock. Using your microscopes, I want you to determine the differences between them, if you can." I stared at the red rock in my hand when the TA handed it to me. I remembered the newspapers saying that the Rock went missing from the museum shortly after Baron Battle was caught, but no one ever found out where the crystal was, though a lot of people still thought he had it. I chose to ignore this thought and the other people who may have also remembered that detail.

"I need to use the bathroom," I grumbled. I grabbed the hall pass and nodded in acknowledgement of Medulla. It was weird to see the usually crowded halls so empty; it seemed so normal, like regular high school. No one was setting anyone on fire or freezing people.. very strange.

Just as I came out of the bathroom, I saw something dark moving out of the corner of my eye. I grew curious and was in no rush to look at red stones in a microscope. I picked up my stride to follow the shadow around the corner. When I turned the corner, the figure was gone. Maybe I'm just seeing things, I reasoned and headed back to class when I hear a door open. I ran out to follow the sound. Whoever this guy was, he didn't want to be found, and that intrigued me. I heard steps running up the stairs. Another door opened.

"Karen's not here," I heard a man say. Karen? I figured that neither realized that I was there. "This is ridiculous, Battle; we should get her when there is less people here." Battle. My father. My father was looking for his rat daughter.