A/N: Sorry for the wait. I'll try to be better. Life has been crazy. Also, sorry for the misspelling of Filipino. I do have a friend who is half Filipino.

My parents were freaking out by the time I got home. All of my friends had walked with me to my front door, and of course Mom asked them in. She was always the perfect hostess. Even if I could see I think I'd fail at that one. I just didn't think of all of the little things like she did. After she got us settled in the living room with Harley, drinks, and cookies, she and Dad sat down to listen to what had happened. I could tell Dad was furious because it started thundering outside. He calmed down when Mom put her hand on his shoulder. My friends were impressed. It was comforting to me to see the three auras merging. Mom's yellow, Dad's yellow and red, and the baby's blue. It reminded me that there were other things going on besides my little drama.

Don't get me wrong. I definitely wanted to know who had set that little trap for me, but in the end it wouldn't make a difference. They'd get their just desserts. There was no way one of those students could hide something like that from Principal Powers, right? A bit uneasily I remembered that Royal Pain had hidden from Principal Powers, but this couldn't be anywhere near that type of situation. I mean, that had been an extremely rare situation.

My friends were busy coming up with theories on who they thought had perpetrated the offense. Layla was positive it was Max, which made Warren angrier if that was possible. I didn't think it was Max. If it had happened to Warren, maybe, but it happened to me. I know that Max had sort of threatened me previously, but I didn't think he'd do something like a fire bomb in my locker. It wasn't like he didn't know I could manipulate fire. No, this was someone else. I wondered if there was anyway I could find out which kids at school had the ability of booby trapping. I wondered how they got into my locker. What I really wondered though was why they'd trapped my locker. Besides Max, to my knowledge I hadn't upset anyone. No angry words exchanged, and certainly no out and out fighting. I saw no reason to fight unless it was defending myself or my loved ones. That hadn't been a problem.

Harley licked at my face and cried a little so I cuddled him closer. He'd gotten a work out playing with everyone. It seemed like even licking my face tired him out and he let out a huge yawn. He was the best present I'd ever been given, and it seemed a shame that I didn't know who'd given him to me. The past few months had been the craziest. If someone had told me this past summer that I would end up with super powers and going to a high school for heroes, I'd have laughed in their face. Well, as close to their face as I could approximate.

The rest of the week for school seemed to pass by quickly, or as Layla sometimes says, in a blur. There seemed to be some shifting in the way Warren spoke to me. It was almost like his usual razor straight edge was brittle. I couldn't figure out what I'd done to cause that, but I couldn't worry about it. The teachers had been checking my locker periodically and had found two more bombs just waiting for me to discover. One was in my History book, and one had been in the small case that held the components for my laser. You remember? The one I was learning to build by touch? Yeah, that one. Principal Powers still hadn't figured out who was doing it, and I was starting to get annoyed.

Max had been thoroughly questioned and cleared, which I'd known would happen, but hey who listens to the blind girl? What would she know? I hadn't wanted to speak with him, but I had to let him know that I hadn't thought he was guilty. It had been the first time I'd seen his aura as anything but that nauseous gray. So I approached him after class at his locker. Layla stood to the back and was not pleased. Max's aura told me he wasn't pleased either.

"Max?" I began hesitantly. When he turned to face me I continued. "I just wanted you to know that I never for a moment thought that you were behind the bombs."

"Thanks." He said shortly. "I wouldn't do that to you Marina. No matter how mad I get, I wouldn't take it out on you." He'd emphasized the word you. "Seems like you've made a real enemy though."

"Yeah, I guess so." I knew the confusion in my voice was obvious.

"I don't like getting blamed for other people's actions." He told me angrily. "I'm sure between everyone looking we'll figure out who's doing it." With those words he slammed his locker door.

"I have to go." I told him. "I just wanted to make sure you knew that I didn't think it was you." Turning to walk away from him I stopped short when his hand closed on my shoulder.

"I do appreciate it Marina." He said softly.

My skin crawled where he touched me, but I remained steady. Wouldn't do to insult the boy, after making some small peace with him now would it? I thought that life wasn't supposed to get so difficult until AFTER high school. Boy had I been wrong.

Layla and I walked to our next class, and Warren and Will were already seated at our group table. It was History class, and currently we were studying Superheroes from the 1930's. It was sort of interesting. Everyone kept laughing at the costumes, but I couldn't see them, so no laughing for me.

We were barely seated before a waft of perfume blew around us and a mottled blue and orange aura approached. I recognized the perfume, but couldn't place it. A bit uncommon for me, but heck I'm not perfect. When I heard the voice I figured it out quickly.

"Hi Warren." The voice was almost syrupy sweet. Yep, it was the infamous Steffi. Interesting. She'd never been this close before.

"Steffi." He said vaguely.

"Are you going to the dance this weekend?" she giggled. Oh good grief.

"Yep." I have to admit it sort of made me feel good that he obviously didn't want to talk to her.

"Oh." She sounded surprised. "It made me remember how we got together that first homecoming." I think I'm starting to see where she's going with this one. "Do you have a date?"

"Yep." He said shortly, offering nothing else.

She sighed in frustration. "I'm going with Deke." She almost bit out. "Who are you going with?"

The tone of her voice was really starting to annoy me. Without thinking that there might be consequences I reached out and took Warren's hand in mine. The heat we created seemed to have a life of its own and I heard Layla gasp slightly. I paid no attention to her, instead focusing on this girl who was aggravating Warren. "Me." I answered her innocently.

She'd taken a step back from us. Obviously Steffi didn't like the warm sensation. "Oh, how nice." She said with some disdain. "Well, save me a dance Warren."

Warren was staring at me. I could feel it. "Hmm, what? Oh, sorry Steffi, I promised Marina all my dances."

Steffi's aura was changing from blue and orange to red and a deeper orange, but when she spoke she was still Ms. Sweetness and Lite. "Oh, okay. Maybe some other time." She moved from our table and went back to hers.

"What just happened?" Will said in amazement. I hadn't noticed but he and Layla had moved in closer to me and Warren.

"You felt it?" I asked, slightly surprised.

"Yeah, it was warm and felt good." Layla answered me. "I had a headache and now it's gone."

I let go of Warren's hand, and he didn't stop me. "I don't know. It happens anytime we touch."

"I'd want to touch all the time if that happened!" Will said exuberantly, and Warren smacked him upside the head. Layla and I giggled, and I ignored the way my stomach flipped at the thought of touching Warren constantly. Layla got really quiet.

"Does it happen with Max that way too?" she asked me. That sobered Warren and Will up quickly.

All I could do is shrug. "I don't know. I've never touched him skin to skin." The very thought of touching Max flesh to flesh made me feel uneasy. What if it did make me feel the same way? Would that change me? The very thought was confusing that someone who was obviously walking on the opposite path to which I'd chosen to walk could possibly make me feel the same wonderful feelings that Warren did.