Layla's POV
I woke up with my back stiff and my head pounding. Before I my mind could catch up with my eyes, I briefly wondered if I had been kidnapped.
Then I remembered my mother's note, the Paper Lantern, the park, the drive home, Warren's fabulous cooking, and his cushy red couch. I sat up and fixed my tank top from where it had been twisted from me sleeping, and noticed Warren leaning against the counter. I rubbed my eyes and saw that he was drinking coffee like he had just woken from a ten year coma.
Although I'm not sure if you could call it coffee.
It was more like a thick sludge.
Did I mention that he was only wearing black and red pinstriped boxers? And nothing else…
"Good, you're awake. There's coffee, cereal, orange juice, whatever. Just don't make a mess." And with that, he set his empty cup on the counter and walked into the bathroom, kicking the door shut behind him.
Obviously not a morning person.
I stretched my arms and glanced out his tall window. The clouds were weird today. Almost green-ish.
I sighed and walked over to where my phone had been charging (charger courtesy of Magenta), and dialed my punk friend.
"Oh it's good you called Layla. I was thinking last night, you know about the whole Warren thing and…,"
"Magenta, breathe in, hold, breathe out. Now get to the point." I tapped my foot while she breathed. And I was more than surprised when she practically screamed the next four words through my phone.
"The Walk of Shame!" I could feel the exaltedness of her brilliance dripping off her words and I became wary.
"Care to elaborate?"
She sighed at my ignorance. "The Walk of Shame, capitals and everything, is when a girl goes over to a guy's house, they do some stuff, and she spends the night. She is then forced to wear either her clothes again, or, if she's lucky, his clothes."
My eyes widened. "I have to hand it to you Mage, this is ambitious, but do I really want to wear Warren's clothes to school? Contrary to popular belief, I do care about my reputation as a female."
"Might I remind you that you wore a bustier to school? And that ridiculously short leather skirt?" I could just see her eyes rolling.
"Fine. What do I say?" Warren chose this time to shuffle out of the bathroom, hair dripping from a shower. Thankfully, he had put a change of clothes in there last night.
"Is that him? I can hear the universal early-morning-boy-shuffle. Hand the phone over."
I shrugged and walked over to him, shoving the phone in his face. He listened to Magenta for about five seconds before pressing the end button.
"Wow hippie. The Walk of Shame? That's a little low. C'mon, I have a Metallica shirt that's a little too small. Should fit pretty well. Oh, and your purple friend said something about bag nine." I followed him to his room and he pulled a black t-shirt from the drawers built into the underside of his bed.
He chucked it at me and I spun around, heading to the dreaded duffel bag.
A few minutes later, and I had on some ridiculously short denim jean shorts, Warren's Metallica shirt, my leather jacket, and the same flats I wore yesterday. My hair was in a low ponytail, and I wore minimal makeup.
And Warren still told me I looked pretty damn hot.
I grabbed my book bag and tossed my phone in. Warren was waiting by the front door, and he looked actually pretty good today. Plain black tee with holes near the collar and hem where you could just make out his red long sleeved shirt underneath. Jeans that hugged in all the right places, and his hot leather jacket, a more masculine version of mine. He had on just one studded cuff on his left wrist, and his right was free, so you could see the flames.
I wonder why I'm taking such an interest in Warren's apparel, aside from the normal appreciative glance…
We made it down stairs, and onto Highway 102 just as the bus was getting ready to take off. I noticed Will, Gillian, Zach, and Ethan's faces were all pressed against the window in shock. Magenta was just smirking at us. I tightened my arms visibly around Warren's torso, and we stayed with the bus for the whole ride to school. The bus landed in our wake, and I retied my ponytail as the kids got off the angry yellow monster.
I vaguely noticed the clouds looked even angrier, but was forcibly pushed into reality by Warren's lips on mine.
My arms wound around his neck in a near-automatic response, but as always, the kiss was cut short. Will looked very angry, and I pulled off my jacket to make him even more so. The wind was a little chilly, but if I had the jacket on, they clearly wouldn't be able to see the shirt that was most definitely not mine.
Will looked utterly shocked for the umpteenth time this week as he took in my appearance. The healthy glow, that nobody knew came from a little extra bronzer. The shirt that was just a little too big on me. The same shoes as yesterday. My overly giddy smile, and Warren's air of superiority.
Everyone thought that I had sex with Warren last night.
And that's exactly what we wanted them to think.
Warren and I slowly walked across the courtyard, fingers intertwined, as we let everyone put two and two together. Almost as if on cue, a beat passed, and the entire Sky High population exploded with whispers. Warren pulled me into the middle of the courtyard, and without a care of the teachers' eyes, he kissed me.
It felt a little different, closer in meaning to the kiss yesterday than the one at the party. His hands pushed up the back of the shirt to reveal a sliver of my skin, and my hands grabbed his collar. I could faintly hear a clicking sound over the increasingly loud whispers.
I thought nothing of it until the noise stopped, and someone tapped my shoulder. Warren and I sprung apart, and my cheeks turned rosy.
Principal Powers was standing in front of us, and she had that same look, the one of mock disappointment, with a ghost of a smile. "Detention, the both of you, after school, for public displays of affection. See you there." She walked away and I stared at Warren in shock.
"Did we just get busted for PDA? My mom is going to kill me."
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A little something to tide you over while I work on the next chapter, which also happens to be the climax. No pun intended for my dirtier minded folk. Anywho, I may be a few days, so check back later. I love you and review!
