A/N: Hello again! I hope you guys don't mind the sudden update-craze I have with this story. Umm, yeah for once I don't have much to talk about. Enjoy!

Oh, and I do not, in any way or form own any characters in Sky High, except Serena and any other characters I make up. *le sigh*

Chapter 10: Almost There

…Warren's PoV…

'Tuesday morning, one day closer to that stupid dance. Least I can finally get it over with. 4 more days..' I sat down warily at my desk in Mad Science, waiting for Serena to get to our table. A few minutes passed, and as kids started filing in, I noticed she wasn't among them. The bell rang, but I told myself that she would just walk in late. Medulla started the lesson and I figured that Serena might not be at school today. Which was extremely odd, I'd gotten so used to seeing her every day, and I'd only known her for a little over a month. Medulla's lesson consisted, as usual, of him lecturing while we took notes straight from the moment roll was done being taken to when the bell signaling the end of 2nd.

I frowned to myself on the way to Undercover Strategies. 'It's weird not having Serena here, there's no sarcastic remark to be heard from her. Ugh, I don't have anyone to warn me when Hippie or one of her friends is around, crap.' I was a few feet from the classroom when all of sudden, Zach popped up in front of me. "Hey kid, there a reason you're making me late to class?"

"Yeah," he said with his thick drawl, "I did some thinkin' and I really want to know how you like, work out and stuff. Not just to impress Magenta, but to maybe get the bullies to stop pickin' on me and my boy Ethan, ya know?"

"I'll tell you, but you have to realize my workout routine is for pyrokinetics, and anyone else with fire-related powers only. It wouldn't do you much good."

Zach frowned, which was sort of a first for me; I'd always seen him as someone who was always cheerful. But hey, I don't know what goes on in his head, so I won't judge. He still hadn't said anything, so I turned to get to my class, but he grabbed my arm and said, "What's some of the stuff you do to keep yourself in shape? Like stuff any regular person could do?"

"Run laps, meditate, do push-ups, crunches, lift weights. You know the things people do at gyms and what the teachers in middle school had us do." I finished with a nonchalant shrug.

He nodded his head and then grinned at me, "Thanks, man. I'll see ya 'round."

I nodded my head and clapped his shoulder, then went into class. I couldn't pay too much in class; the empty desk next to me was too distracting. I thanked the stars that Falkner didn't have us take notes from bell to bell like Medulla did, and instead gave us time to do our homework before lunch.

I finished my work with a few minutes to spare, when I wondered if I should find out Serena's cell number so I could ask if she was ok. 'Would that be weird? Maybe I could ask Hippie?' Even though we'd known each other for a few weeks by now, I'd never bothered to find out her number. Which I was fine with, she'd never offered or asked for mine, but all of a sudden I wondered if it would be weird. It seemed like if I asked, things would change. I frowned to myself as I was lost in my thoughts on the way to the tree I usually sat under with Serena.

"Man, I am so out of it today.." I muttered to myself. I looked around and saw various people I knew of, but never talked to. Soon Hippie and Popsicle entered my field of vision. They were across the grass, going to join some other kids, but I flicked my fingers toward them and a tiny ball of fire was sent speeding toward them. Popsicle stopped short and Layla jumped and looked around until she spotted me. I crooked my finger in a "come here" motion and patted the grass next to me. She nodded, then said something to Ethan and walked over. When she sat down, I didn't say anything for a moment, trying to put my question into words that wouldn't make her question me. 'Wait, why should she have to ask me anything? I'm not giving anything away.'

"Umm, Warren? Did you want to say anything to me?" Layla finally spoke.

'Might as well just spit it out.' I said, "Serena's number. You have it. I want it. Don't ask why, just give it to me."

Hippie gave me a "what the fuck?" look but then rattled off the numbers. I saved it into my phone, and thanked her. She just nodded, and then went silent, I guess thinking about something. All of a sudden she blurts out, "I'm really really sorry Warren. I shouldn't have told Will I was going to the dance with you. I know you wanted to go with Serena, but I panicked when-"

I cut off her with a glare and a low growl, "You thought I what?"

She turned red and meekly replied, "I.. I thought you wanted to go to Homecoming with Serena."

I was honestly taken aback, I'd never once thought about that. I raised my eyebrows and frowned a bit at her assumption. "Well, I don't know where you heard that from, but I never even once considered going to the dance. Then you asked me to go along with your plan. Which I must say, doesn't really seem to be working."

Hippie sighed and muttered, "I know, I don't even want to go to the dance anymore, I feel horrible. And I know you're not looking forward to it so don't lie."

"Well I'm not gonna lie to you, I don't want to go either, but we may as well, I'm sure you already have a dress. You can use the dance as one last effort to make Stronghold jealous and if not even that works, forget about him and move on."

Layla nodded in agreement and smiled at me before saying, "You're right, I'll do that."

I didn't bother saying anything, I stared straight ahead. Then I felt an arm hesitantly come around my shoulder. I sent a sidelong glance to Layla, who just said, "You look sad today."

I grunted in thanks and told her she better get going, her friends were waiting. She jumped up and nearly ran inside the school, waving to me while she ran. I smiled and sent a small wave back. About 10 minutes later the bell rang and the underclassman started leaving. I sighed to myself and thought, 'I've done enough good deeds for the day. Time for some relaxation.' Stretching out in the grass, I put my arms behind my head and sleepily gazed at the bright blue sky that was showing in small gaps between the leaves.

… Serena's PoV…

I woke up the next morning with a horrible feeling in my stomach. I thought getting ready would wake me up make me feel better, but it didn't at all. 'Why do I feel like something horrible is about to happen to me? I don't like this.' I went downstairs and tried to eat some simple toast and water, but couldn't stomach it. Zeus pattered up to me, his claws making little click-clack against the hardwood floor and whined. I stared at my water, wondering if I should go to school or not today. I moved to go back upstairs to my room, when the clock on the wall stopped me. '10:00 a.m., well I guess that solves my question about school or not.' I trudged up to my room and curled up under the covers and went back to sleep.

Zeus' sniffing at my face was what woke me up a while later. I mumbled at him to get off of me, and he whined before curling up next to me and watching me intently. The sun was right in my face, and I figured lying in bed any longer was pointless and sat up with a groan. 'Did I eat something bad yesterday or what?' I tried thinking of reasons as to why my stomach still had a terrible feeling, but kept coming up blank. Zeus was still looking at me, his black head between his paws, and something clicked inside my head. I concentrated on morphing my body from my normal human body into my wolf form. I sat in my bed and waited for the feeling of tissue tearing, bones breaking and my skin stretching and growing hair. It never came. The feeling in my gut intensified as I tried to shift again. Again, I was still in my human body. I tried not to panic, and thought maybe I could still shift into my lion body, so I concentrated on the image of a big cat in my head, but still, nothing. My eyes grew wide, my brain and heart went into panic mode. 'What's going on?' I screamed in my head. My fear was so bad that I started hyperventilating, my hands shook, and I was getting dizzy, the objects in my room spinning. I realized I was going to be sick and stumbled to the bathroom, and then collapsed in front of the toilet and wretched. When I was done, I flushed and rinsed my mouth out, along with splashing my face with water to clear it. Another feeling of fear overtook me and suddenly I was afraid to look in the mirror, but I did anyways. My mouth hung open in shock as I stared at my reflection. Everything was the same, with the exception of my most distinctive feature. My eyes. They weren't gold/yellow anymore. Now they were almost red-looking. I screamed. Then everything went black.

When I came around, I was lying on the bathroom floor, with Zeus sitting next to me. I noticed his eyes looked sad, like he knew what happened to me. Which I guess he did in a way, he'd seen me go from his human master to his wolf play mate. I stared at the ceiling, not one thought going through my mind. I curled into a ball on the smooth tile, and went to staring at my knees. I jumped when I heard my cell phone go off from my room. I slowly got up and went to answer it.

I didn't recognize the number, but I picked up nonetheless. A gruff voice on the other end said, "Hello? Serena?" I frowned as I recognized the voice and said, "W-Warren? Is that you?"

He breathed, "Yeah, uh, it's me. Hippie gave me your number."

I pictured him rubbing the back of his neck as he said that and almost smiled. "Umm, so why are you calling? I don't mean to be rude, but.." I trailed off, mentally slapping myself.

"I just wanted to see of you were ok, seeing as you aren't at school and all.." he was the one to trail off this time, but then he added, "Is something wrong?"

I started breathing hard again as I remembered what happened earlier. My voice quivered as I replied, "Yeah, I'm fine. Just sick is all, I should be back at school tomorrow."

He sounded relieved and said, "Glad to hear that, hope you get better. Ah, I have notes from Mad Science and Undercover Strategies and I guess-I guess if you want me to, I can swing by I can drop them off for you?"

I nodded my head, and stopped when I realized he couldn't see me doing that. "Uh yeah that sounds good, thank you. When do you wanna drop em off?"

I heard him breath and mutter something to himself, then he said, "I guess after school? I don't have work today and won't be doing anything but homework. Which reminds me, I've got the assignments from Medulla and Falkner's classes, and they're worksheets that go along with chapters from the textbooks."

"After school is great. Would you mind helping me with the homework in Mad Science? I have a feeling I'm not going to understand it one bit, and I know you have a good grade in that class. I've seen the marks you get on tests when he hands them back."

Warren let out a snort of humor and said, "Yeah, you've got me there. I'd be glad to help."

I smiled a bit, "Alright then, I'll see you after school." I could hear the bell ring in the background, and I could tell by the time that 6th was starting.

"See you then, Serena. Bye." And Warren hung up with a click.

I sighed and flopped onto my bed, deciding the best thing was just to avoid my problem was to distract myself so I wouldn't think about it. Getting up, I started cleaning my room, picking up dirty clothes, putting clean clothes in various drawers and hanging other things in my closet. I organized books, picked up trash, made my bed, and vacuumed. Then I went downstairs and put the dirty dishes in the dishwasher, swept the kitchen, and cleaned the counters and table. Looking at the clock to check the time, I realized Warren was going to be here at any minute. I went into the downstairs bathroom to check my appearance. My hair was up in a messy bun, and my outfit wasn't that great. After going back upstairs this morning I had changed into a large shirt and sweats. I tried not to look at my face too much; I didn't want to see what would be looking back at me.

Sitting around wasn't an option, so I made some coffee. My stomach growled loudly and I noticed that I hadn't eaten anything all day. So while the coffee was going I made waffles, a peanut butter & jelly sandwich, a ham-lettuce-tomato-mayo sandwich, and an English muffin with butter on it. I set all of the food down across the table in the dining room and was about to sit down and start eating, when there was a knock at the front door. My stomach growled in protest as I walked out of the kitchen to get the door. I opened it and there stood Warren, tall, dark, and dressed in black jeans, boots, and a black shirt. I raised a brow and said, "What, no leather jacket?" with a smirk.

…Warren's PoV…

I rolled my eyes at Serena's remark and answered, "It was too hot for one today." She shrugged and quickly looked away, standing there awkwardly. I looked down at her curiously, I'd never seen her like this, and it was weird. She was wearing a too-big shirt that went to her thigh, a shirt that also happened to look like she cut it so that it would hang off one shoulder, and dark blue sweats. 'She has tiny feet.' I randomly made that observation as she turned and shuffled inside, making a motion for me to follow her. I stepped inside and closed the door behind me.

I observed her home as I followed her into the kitchen. It was nice, the walls painted warm and inviting colors that could make anyone feel at home and safe there. My observation was stopped short as a black and white puppy ran towards me, and jumped on my legs, barking happily and wagging his tail. He sniffed my legs as I walked to the table Serena was standing at. She looked down and sharply said, "Zeus, down boy." The pup stopped but walked around me, sniffing my boots and panting excitedly.

I watched as Serena poured herself a huge mug of coffee, then turned to me and asked, "Want some?" I nodded and she went to a cupboard and grabbed another mug and poured the rest for me. "I'm sure you know how to mix in sugar and creamer, right?" she in a teasing voice. I smiled. "Yeah, I'd like to think I do." And I set about making it the way I liked it. I followed Serena into the dining room and stopped short. 'Can she really eat all that?' I thought in disbelief. She turned to me with a questioning look on her face, and then glanced between me and the food, and then she said, "Want me to make you some food?"

"Umm, it's up to you. I'll eat whatever though, thank you." I finished with a small shrug.

She pursed her lips and said, "How about I just share some of this with you?"

I nodded, and we sat down at the table. Serena started pouring syrup on her waffles and told me, "Just get whatever you want, if you want more of something I'll get it done."

I got the plate that held the sandwiches and ate the peanut butter & jelly one first. Taking a drink of coffee, Serena quickly glanced at me and then asked, "So what'd I miss at school today?"

Swallowing my food, I said, "Well, you missed a couple of boring lessons, Zach asking me about how to get in shape, and Hippie thinking we were gonna go to Homecoming together."

I almost laughed at the look on Serena's face when I said the last part, she was giving me a "what the fuck?" look, like Hippie had earlier. Then she was silent for a moment before saying, "I didn't ever think of that. Why would she think we were going to the dance together?"

With a shrug I said, "Beats me, she was rambling and said something about thinking I wanted to ask you." She didn't say anything for a few minutes so I did a mental shrug and went back to eating. Suddenly, Serena said, "Were you going to? You know, ask me?" 'Fuck, what the hell am I supposed to say to that? "Sorry, I didn't even think I would go, let alone think about asking you" Yeah, so not going to happen.'

I was at a loss for words, but somehow managed to say, "Umm. I didn't even think I was gonna go to Homecoming. I guess I never gave it much thought." I finished with a wince. No matter what words I used, I still sounded like a dick. Luckily, Serena didn't look dissapointd or even surprised at what I said. We finished all the food and I offered to help put things away but she batted me away and told me to go to the living room with Zeus. So I did. 'Well duh, it's her house. What am I going to do, say "no"?' I sat down on the couch and patted the cushion next to me, which the little dog jumped up onto. He licked my hand and lay down with his head in my lap while I stroked his back and played with his ears. "What kind of dog is he?" I called to Serena. "He's an Akita Inu, original Japanese breed, so he's less fluffy than the American Akita." (A/N: I did some research and black isn't one of the colors that the Japanese Akita is "allowed" to have. But cuz I'm too lazy to change it, Zeus shall be an exception ^-^) as she came into the living room I asked how big he was going to get and she replied, "He'll get to be about as high as my waist, they're medium-sized dogs, so he won't be too big. Will you baby?" she cooed to him as she rubbed his head.

She looked at me and I managed to get a good look at her face. I frowned and said, "You don't look sick. You look fine. Did you just not want to go to school today?"

"No, I really am sick, something's wrong with my stomach, I'm gonna go to the doctor and see what's wrong soon." She was avoiding my eyes, she wouldn't meet mine and I couldn't get a look at her own.

I gave her a suspicious look but let it go and changed the topic. "So are we gonna get started on this homework or not?"

Half an hour later, Serena and I were sitting in on the floor, legs underneath the coffee table in front of us, with our backs to the couch as I explained the homework from Undercover Strategies. "Why would I have to apply for normal jobs if I'm going to be a superhero?" Serena asked angrily, closing her textbook with a sharp thunk. I sighed, "Because you may not be a hero in the long run, haven't you ever thought of it? You can lead a normal life, never fighting crime, retire early, or die in battle, whichever. You can go to university, get a degree in something. If you choose that, Sky High offers choices of universities that accept super-powered people who choose to lead a normal life, and they won't blow your secret. Besides, you need some sort of cover too, just in case you do become a hero." She furrowed her brow and looked down, saying, "I never thought of that. I guess I assumed I didn't have choice because I was going to a school for kids with super powers, and I was on the Hero track. Do you know what you're going to do?"

I took a breath and let it out on a harsh exhale. I thought, 'I never gave that much thought either. I just know because my mom's a retired hero. Dad.. Well he was hero-turned-villain, but he had been meaning to retire before..' my thoughts trailed off as I shook my head to come back to the present. I frowned and told Serena, "I've never thought much about it either, to be honest. But keep in mind that you always have a choice. Even if it's a tough one, you know? My mom was a superhero, although not as known as The Commander. But that was fine with her, she likes the quiet life and retired. My dad," I let out a deep sigh, "my dad was a hero at one point, and was going to retire, but then turned villain. Contradictory to what people say, no one but him, The Commander, my mom and me know what really happened to make him turn. And no, I'm not telling you, I've told you enough."

Serena shrugged and said, "I wasn't expecting you to tell me, nor was I going to ask. If you want to talk about it, you'll talk. If you don't want to, I respect that and won't mention it."

I smiled at her and said, "Thanks, kid." She tried to look mad but smiled back anyways and said I was welcome. We went back to doing homework, and I noticed Zeus, though I had been ignoring him before. He was curled up on Serena's side, with his head on her lap, whining every now and then. The look in his eyes was one full of sadness. I reached over and scratched behind his ear, saying, "What's wrong boy?" He whined again, this one longer, and looked at Serena, then whined again. I gave her a confused look and she sighed, then her eyes met mine. I felt like a jerk, but couldn't help that hiss of surprise that left me when I saw them. They weren't the yellow/gold color I was used to seeing. Now they were almost red, and not the white parts around her eyes, but the iris.

She looked away and said softly, "I woke up this morning with a feeling of dread, like something bad was going to happen. I had slept in anyways so I wasn't gonna go to school. I wanted to shape-shift so I could play with Zeus, but I couldn't. I tried again and then I tried shifting into my lion form, but I stayed in my human body no matter how much I tried. I got so scared I threw up and when I looked at myself in the mirror after cleaning up, my eyes were this color."

I blinked in surprise at her small story, and I didn't know what to say, I'd never heard of someone's powers just disappearing. "Do you think it could have something to do with the way you've been when you shift the past few weeks? You kept getting small and smaller and now you can't even shape-shift." I remembered that day we had walked to the Paper Lantern, thank God. Serena's eyes widened and she murmured, "Whoa, I didn't think about that. But still, I don't know why I was getting smaller, I just was." She sat with a sudden slouch, her head down in defeat.

"Maybe tomorrow you can visit the school nurse, and she might know why this happened." I offered that suggestion a bit skeptically, I don't know if she had any experience with this. All Serena did was nod her head, then she leaned her head on my shoulder. I froze for a second, then relaxed and nudged her to pick her head up before wrapping my arm around her shoulder and pulling her closer. She leaned her head on me again, and I rubbed her arm a bit saying, "This will all work out, don't worry about it."

A/N: I hope you guys liked this chapter! I wrote in Warren's PoV twice because I love getting into his head, it's so much fun and entertaining. And because I figured it would make this chapter longer. Please review, don't be shy! I'm talking to you who put me on your Favorite Authors/Favorite Story/Story Alert but don't review. I'm not mad or anything, just letting you know that you're welcome to review whenever/if you want. I don't bite :] For those of you who've been reviewing, I can't thank you enough!