A/N: I'm SO SORRY I haven't updated, my laptop got a virus early last month and I haven't been able to fix it until now. Problem was, the only way to fix it was to completely wipe out everything to get it back to how it was when I first got my laptop. I lost EVERYTHING. My back-up essays for school, my beloved iTunes (waaahh..), my pictures from when I visited Germany (noooo!), and every single one of my chapters. So this chapter is gonna be a bit rough, as I'm trying to re-do it from memory. I was halfway done with this before my computer went bonkers *sob*

Chapter 7: Not Fast Enough

Serena's PoV…

The following week at school was as normal as it can ever get at a school for super teens, or would have been, if Layla didn't somehow manage to find Warren between classes and talk to him about Will or the dance. Whenever I saw her coming I'd give him a small warning before walking ahead, leaving him to deal with her happy-happy-rainbows-and-butterflies attitude alone. It's not that I didn't like her; I just thought it was really funny.

I could tolerate her friends easily enough, they were an interesting group, and I liked observing them. Zach was very...bright, for lack of a better way to put it. His personality was as bright as the colors he wore to school. He spoke with a very thick New York accent, which I found really amusing to hear. It was a bit sad seeing him try so hard to impress Magenta, if he was only himself around her, then she would show her affections for him back.

Of Layla's friends the one I could converse most with was Ethan, he was a cute little thing, always in orange, always willing to help others with homework, very reliable. He even told me some history he'd managed to pick up about The Commander and Baron Battle. According to him, Commander and Baron had been good friends through graduation; they were both in the hero class and used their powers extraordinarily well. They'd teamed up from time to time, fighting evil, until something had happened. A mission had gone wrong, and since then the two had been mortal enemies. No one bothered to look into it, and since neither of the two would talk about it in public, the masses had been left to guess for themselves, giving Baron Battle a bad name. No one but The Commander and Baron Battle knew what had happened that night.

Magenta was very witty; she used a lot of dry humor and sarcasm, which I found hilarious. Even though she seemed constantly annoyed by Zach, I could tell she found him endearing, and she was starting to like him back. We talked a lot, and when they joined us for lunch-which wasn't as annoying as it was before- the two of us were a force to be reckoned with. With the two of us combined, we could make even Warren smirk-his weird version of a smile when in public-while everyone else laughed. We'd carry on conversations that were pure insults and sarcasm with completely straight faces, which not many people can do. Since we didn't differ that much in clothing tastes (although admittedly I was more of a band-shirt-and-tight-pants type of person, as opposed to her skirts and blouses), we decided to go shopping over the weekend. Layla was going to come along with us, since she needed to find a dress for Homecoming.

It was Friday, and Homecoming was next Saturday, which meant everyone was left with one week to make final preparations. I frowned as I looked around me during lunch, looking across the grass from the shade of my tree. 'Everyone here's so wrapped up in plans for this dance, as if it was really the most important thing in their lives.' Warren plopped down next to me and said with a heavy sigh, "Man, if the Hippie tries to talk me into wearing a tux one more time, I will not hesitate to light her hair on fire."

I grinned and said, "But Warren, that's rude. You wouldn't really do that to your date would you?"

He looked at me and deadpanned, "Yes. I would."

With a roll of my eyes I said, "Pyros, you're all so weird. And always with a temper, tsk tsk tsk. Very unbecoming of a young man."

"And what about you, hmm? With your cursing all the time, I bet you could put sailors to shame."

"I probably could, but I'm trying to work on that. I'd rather not see a woman in the store clap her hands over her son's ears again."

Warren laughed at that, well it was more of a small chuckle with an adorable smile on his face but, it was a start. With eyes that showed an unfamiliar warmth in them, he asked, "Oh man..did that really happen? What could have been so bad that you'd use language like that in front of a kid?"

I shrugged, "I knocked some things off a shelf and as I went to pick them up I hit my nose on the shopping cart. It really hurt." I scrunched my nose, thinking back to the pain that had come with that incident.

Warren just laughed lightly, his shoulders softly shaking. I couldn't help but laugh silently next to him. It was a nice, friendly moment between us, which was pretty rare. Usually we'd read in silence or do homework until 6th rolled around. He pulled out a book from his bag and started reading after a few minutes of silence. I stretched out on the grass, with my arms behind my head, watching the clouds roll by. Soon I checked my pocket watch, seeing if I had time to fly before going in. Seeing as I still had an hour, I mumbled to Warren that I'd be back and set off to the edge of the school.

I walked straight off the edge without stopping, and let myself fall through the sky. I closed my eyes, enjoying the feeling of the wind in my face, pushing my hair back and making my clothes latch onto my body. I pulled my wings out and pulled up, going back towards the school using slow, lazy beats of my wings. I rode a thermal up high above the school, where I noticed something shoot past me. I looked around and saw that Michael Anders had passed me, as he turned around and waved before going back to wherever he was going. I was confused to say the least, until I heard laughter coming from behind me. Turning around, I saw Sarah Bell and Damon Sanders come towards me. I'd never really talked to any of the other fliers at the school, because they all seemed a bit stuck up.

Sarah saw me and waved before coming to a stop in front of me. "Hey Serena!" She greeted with a smile on her face. I smiled in greeting and asked what they were doing. Damon explained, "Oh, we're playing tag!" I gave them an incredulous look and he explained again, "To work on our flying agility and speed. We take turns chasing each other through the air, and sometimes we have mid-air battles to practice those too."

"Whoa, that's awesome, do you mind if I join?" I asked shyly.

Sarah and Damon glanced at each other and then eyed my wings. They could just think about flying through and air and boom; they were up in the air. I had to work for the most part to stay airborne, but I didn't care, the flapping of my wings was a nice rhythm that I enjoyed listening to. They were silently deliberating, and then Michael came back over to us. "Hey, are we playing or not?"

Sarah told him, "Serena asked to join. We were just going to say.." she trailed off, unsure of what to say.

I took the hint and calmly said, "It's whatever. I wouldn't want to intrude. Have fun." And with that I beat my wings at them, creating a gust of wind that blasted them in their faces, and turned down towards to the school. I felt someone grab my arm and make me stop my dive short. I looked up and saw Damon and Michael. With a frown on his face, Michael told me, "I'm sorry Serena; Sarah can be a real bitch sometimes. And I can understand why you don't feel comfortable even with fellow fliers. We really would like for you to join us." He finished with a small smile.

I returned the gesture and said, "Thank you, both of you. Maybe next time though."

"I'll hold you to that. That gust with your wings hit us pretty hard; you'd be fun to fight against in the air." Damon and I laughed and I agreed to what Michael told me before turning back to school again.

I landed next to Warren, who had finished his book and was now laying in the shade, dozing off. Sitting down next to him, I picked a small feather from the edge of my wing and then they curled back into my body. Eyeing him with a smirk, I lightly ran the feather across his face. Down his cheeks, across his lips, and up his nose. Each time he furrowed his brows and made a small grunt of annoyance. I then lightly ran the feather up and down his bare arms, taking in how the white of the feather looked compared to the darkly tanned skin over his muscular arm. If I hadn't been drooling over his body, I would have noticed he was awake and watching me with a smirk on his face. So to my chagrin I jumped when he teasingly whispered, "Like what you see?"

I growled in embarrassment and glared at him before saying, "Maybe I do, and maybe I don't. That's for me to know and you to not bother finding out because you won't."

Warren smirked and stretched on the grass, bringing his arms up above his head, arching his back, and tilting his hips up. I rolled my eyes at the over dramatic display and shoved his head to one side. He just grinned and sat up next to me. I turned and grabbed my bag, making sure I had what I needed for my homework. All of a sudden I felt Warren's hot breath on my neck as he said huskily into my ear, "I think you do like what you see."

My eyes widened a bit and my mouth opened in a small "o" shape. I shook my head and shrugged his chin off my shoulder, turning around to face him as I said, "Again, that's for me to know." He sat back with an irresistibly sexy smirk as he said, "You want me, just admit it."

I snorted, "Please, your ego's as big as your head. Every girl in the school secretly wants you, so you play the "bad boy" of the school to get them all...girly. Go after one of them."

He actually laughed at that, which I found myself smiling at. I glared at him again and got up to go to the locker room. Warren was chuckling behind me as we walked up the steps. I stopped at the top and waited for him to catch up. He looked at me and grinned, then sauntered past me with a wink. I rolled my eyes and laughed at him, he knew half the female population of Sky High had a raging crush on him but was too scared to go up to him. And because of that, half of the female population also glared at me whenever they saw me with him. I usually shrugged it off, it's not like they'd actually fight me over him or anything, he wasn't even mine, no matter how possessive my thoughts were.

In the locker room, I noticed Chantal was getting gym clothes out of her locker while talking to some friends. I went up to her and asked. "Hey Chantal, can I ask you something?" She turned to me and agreed with a smile. We sat down on a bench and she asked, "What's up?" while pulling a shirt over her head. I had already finished getting dressed and asked as she finished changing, "I've noticed something weird about my shape-shifting powers, and I was wondering if maybe you'd know something about why they're acting up."

She nodded her head and asked me to describe what was going on with them. I started slowly, "Well, I've noticed that sometimes their instincts get really powerful. And when they do I grow fangs or canines, claws, and my eyes will change color according to which animal is trying to take over. Oh, and my size has been getting smaller and smaller, so now I'm to the size of a regular lion or wolf. Do you know anything about why this is going on?"

Chantal grew very serious and said, "What kind of feelings do you get when this happens?"

"Umm…usually I'm feeling protective of someone or something."

She looked at me and said very softly, "It's something I can't explain, but I know who can."

"Oh, who can tell me what's going on?"

Chantal's lips were pursed in a tight smile, "My grandmother, she's a shape-shifter also and knows a lot about their history."

I nodded and said, "Would it be ok if I asked her to explain to me what's going on?"

She looked at me confusedly, "Why not just ask your parents? Don't they have powers too?"

With a shake of my head I said, "No, neither of them have powers. I don't even know how I got mine if they don't have powers."

"Well then you can come over some time and meet her, would that be ok?"

"Yeah, it really would be, thanks Chantal, thank you so much."

She grinned, "It's no problem at all. My grandmother loves meeting new shape-shifters, she's really proud of the power. That's why when she found I got that power; she went straight into training me."

I smiled at that, picturing it. With another smile and thanks, I got up and walked to my seat in the stands and plopped down next to Warren. He turned to me and said, "Have you decided whether or not you're going to Homecoming?"

I frowned, "No, why?"

"Layla and Magenta are planning on asking you to go dress shopping with them for advice, and they're hoping to convince you while they're at it."

I sighed, "How do you know?"

A smile tugged at his lips as he said, "I overheard them before I went outside to sit with you."

I groaned at the idea of watching them try on dress after dress while I just sat there. 'Well maybe I'll get a dress of my own, even though I'm not going.' As we watched a match going on in the arena, I was lost in my own thoughts. 'I wonder what Chantal's grandma is going to say to me about my powers. I honestly have no idea why this is happening. I also have no idea what was up with Warren today. I do think he's cute, but he's too thick headed. He hates admitting when he's wrong and can get insufferably stubborn.'

I looked up when I heard Layla saying my name, standing in the aisle with Magenta. I asked, "What's up you guys?"

Layla asked, "We were wondering if you wanted to come dress shopping with Magenta and I tomorrow, and maybe if you could give us advice on what looks good?"

I smiled and nodded, "Sure, that'd be fun! I may as well get one for myself while you two get dresses."

Magenta and Layla beamed at me and we made plans to meet at the mall around 2 p.m. tomorrow afternoon. I laughed when I saw Warren's hands were smoking in annoyance of our conversation. The two girls then left to go back to Zach and Ethan, and Warren and I went back to sitting in silence. Soon the match was over, and we went back to the locker rooms and school was over.

As I stepped out into the sunlight, I took a deep breath and sighed. I'd had a pretty good day; it was a good way to end the week. Warren walked up next to me and said, "So someone's got plans for the weekend, look at you busy bee."

I smiled a bit and said, "Yep, what about you? You have any plans?"

He shrugged as we walked down the front steps, "Work, work, sleep, eat, work, read, sleep. Mhmm, that's about it. Should be thrilling, no?"

"Oh yes, fun-filled and overflowing with excitement. Lucky you." I said with a light punch to his shoulder.

Warren batted my hand away and said "bye" by lightly pushing me away from him and then pulling me into a one-armed hug. I returned it with a one-armed hug of my own and then did a cannonball off the school's edge. As I plummeted towards earth, my wings unfurled and wrapped themselves around my body, covering me in a shield of white feathers. I slowly turned my body into a straight line as I dove towards the ground, angling my body and wings so I gained speed quickly. With a large smile I finally pulled out of the dive and landed in my backyard before walking inside and up to my room.

After finishing my homework I looked around my room and sighed. 'I'm bored, there's never anything to do around here. Mom and Dad won't be back for a few more hours.' I decided to treat myself to lunch for the day, and wondered about where to go while I stepped outside my house and started walking down the street.

After a few minutes and deliberating, I decided to get some Chinese takeout. I smiled a bit as I realized the closest place around here was the Paper Lantern, the place where Warren worked. I'd never been there myself, but had heard from Layla and Zach that it was a really good place to eat, and not as expensive as other places. I looked up at the medium-sized building as I walked towards it and opened the door. I didn't expect so many people to be there, but I guess I'd forgotten it was a Friday afternoon.

The place was packed with families both ordering food to-go, and sitting down to eat. I figured if some families were willing to wait to sit and eat then the place must be as good as people had said it was. After about 20 minutes a receptionist led me to a small table near a huge window. I sat down and tried to block out the talking, sounds of eating utensils, and plates being stacked on top of each other. Soon a waiter came by to take my order. When I mumbled, "I'll have the orange chicken and teriyaki chicken bowl please." The waiter couldn't hear me so I had to speak up. I repeated myself and looked up in irritation, but was face-to-face with Warren.

He frowned when he saw me and said, "What are you doing here?"

"Stalking you, what does it look like I'm doing?"

"Well I fell special. What kind of drink do you want?"

I told him that he should feel extremely special and that I'd have a Coke and he left without another word, probably to give the order to the chef and pick up more plates. Sitting there playing with my rolled up fork and knife, I wondered about what kind of day I'd have tomorrow at the mall. When my food was ready and in front of me, I took my time, eating it slowly and watching the people around me. It was really interesting, seeing how people acted around each other. I watched as a boy and girl were on what looked like their first date, they barely touched their food because they were both nervous, but also having a good conversation from what I could tell.

My eyes moved to another table, this one had a small family. There was a tired looking dad, a flustered mom, the ever-moody preteen boy, and a smaller boy who was having fun playing with his noodles. They looked like a normal, happy family. Once my food was finished, I paid and left, passing Warren on my way out of the crowded restaurant. Passing was sort of an understatement; I had to slip around some chairs and ended up having to squeeze by his big body to get through. He smirked down at me and I swore I heard him say something about me being tiny. I glared at his retreating form and walked home.

When I got home my parents still weren't back, so I decided to find a new book to read. I looked through the living room that was more like a library, with floor-to-ceiling bookshelves crammed with paperbacks, leather-bound novels, and some books that were so old the title was worn off. I finally found a book called, "The Kreutzer Sonata" by Leo Tolstoy. I took it upstairs to my room and read until I fell asleep.

A/N: What do you guys think of this? I had fun writing it, but looking over it now, it just seems like a boring filler chapter. But I'm looking forward to getting the next one done, and the one after that, and one after that, and the one after that, until it's aaalll done :] Please review! 3