Running for Home

Chapter Twenty-six – You're Playing With the Big Boys Now

Disclaimer: I own nothing, I am simply borrowing the wonderful characters and settings for my own enjoyment and amusement, and not for any profit.

I spent my time after lunch mulling over what Warren had said. I wished I could have taken bits and pieces of it to help figure myself out. Your instinct or automatic response might be more aligned to your parent's way of thinking, but that doesn't mean it's right, and even more importantly, it doesn't mean that you think it's right. Had he told me this last week, had I talked to him about this last week, maybe I would have had an easier time believing it. As far as he knew, it was true. The Nevaeh Tyler he knew was that person, that good side of me. The parts of me that I wanted him to see.

Warren believed the best about me. It's about a choice. And you've made yours. He saw me as this superhero wannabe, someone who wanted to be good, and do good, and be completely different from her parents. And I did want that. Yes. Definitely yes. But that didn't change what I'd done.

What if he found out about the choice I'd made on Friday? If it was about choices and I'd made mine… Yup, that special hell for people-who-put-their-social-well-being-above-the-good-of-the-rest had a place reserved for me.

If it was about a choice, then I needed to make the right one. I needed to tell someone about what had really happened the night of Homecoming. And I would. Soon. Eventually. While I did want to be the person Warren saw in me, I also wanted to be the person Warren actually saw. Like, on a daily basis. Not someone who had to go back on the run, never to see Warren Peace again.

My thoughts were starting to drive me crazy. I couldn't handle any more thinking about all this. I needed a distraction. Like the book Warren had given me. Our current class was Sidekick color coordination. Right, like I was going to spend brain cells on that. I started reading.

"Alright class, here's the next scenario – your hero wants to wear black and green. You look best in yellow. What do you do?"

Really? Really? This is the education that superhero parents paid all that money for? They should definitely have some kind of separate tuition cost for students in the Sidekick classes. Maybe in the Hero classes, they were getting what they paid for, but definitely not on this side of the social stratosphere. Not that I was actually paying…yay, scholarship! I would have to ask Warren what kind of stuff they were learning in those Hero classes. Because this was just…silly.

"Now, I know some of you might not be taking this class seriously, but there will come a time in your future, when you will need to know this," Miss Watson continued. Did I have a guilty conscience, or was that last statement really aimed at me? I looked around to see if it could have been aimed at anybody else. Because doing that didn't make me look guilty, or anything. Right.

"We're going to be splitting up into small group discussions. I want everyone to participate."

Okay, seriously, that time, I know she looked at me when she said it. I sighed, and put the book back in my bag. For the first time in my life, I actually had a hero-praising comic book to read, and this happened. Figures.

Rex, Lenny, Alan, and I all sat together, so we just angled our desks towards each other. And then there was silence.

After a minute of no one talking, I had to say it. "Is it me, or is this the lamest Sidekick scenario we've had to think about yet?"

After looking to make sure Miss Watson was too far away to hear, Alan gave a nervous laugh. "I don't know – remember English class last week? Debating which catchphrase was better, Cowabunga or It's clobberin' time? Not exactly super awesome."

Miss Watson was starting to walk in our direction, so I quick started us off. "Well, if it's green they want, and you look good in yellow, shouldn't you just compromise, go with a greenish yellow color?"

Rex disagreed, "Not if the hero's always right. You have to go with what the hero wants."

"Who says the hero's always right? Maybe they look better in yellow, too." Lenny grinned.

"Please. Few people actually look good in yellow. Then again, if it's a neon green, not too many people look good in that, either," I added.

"Hey, I look good in anything," Lenny bragged.

"Pfft. Yeah, sure," Rex said, rolling his eyes. "It really doesn't matter what color you look good in. The hero's going to get whatever color he wants."

"What kind of hero wants to wear green, anyway? What is he, the Green Goblin?" I argued. And like that, it clicked. I could practically see the lightbulb turn on over my head. "Ohhhh."

The three guys looked at me, waiting for an explanation.

"Think about it," I said. "What colors does Captain America wear? Superman? Spider-Man?"

Lenny and Rex nodded as they figured it out. Alan summed it up, "America equates Heroes with patriotic colors."

"Name one supervillain who wears the red, white, and blue. Just doesn't happen," Rex pointed out.

"So if we value our hero's reputation, we push them away from the green and towards a red and blue color scheme," Alan concluded.

"Right. If we value our hero. So depending on who we get assigned to, maybe we agree with them on the idea of green and black," Lenny responded, his grin only slightly evil.

"But there are heroes who wear black," Rex argue. "Like the X-Men, when they fight as a unit."

My mind started wandering towards Wolverine in X-Men 2. "Yeah, depending on the hero, definitely push for the black leather. Mmmm," I sighed, dreamily.

The guys just stared at me. Rex shook his head. "Sorry, lost in a girl-moment," I apologized.

"But doesn't wearing black send the wrong message? Like, we're really the bad guys? Think about the X-Men's black costumes. It's not like the public welcomed mutants with open arms. It didn't matter if they were trying to destroy the world or save it. Wearing black leather didn't really help their cause," Alan argued.

"In the X-Men's case, the color of their uniforms didn't really matter, because everyone hated and feared them," Lenny countered. "Even bright colored spandex didn't get them a hero's welcome."

I tried to follow the conversation, I really did. But that spandex comment…yeah, my mind was wandering off again. Spandex. Tight hero costumes. Wolverine. Yum. But still, the black leather X-Men outfit was better. There was just something about black leather…and Wolverine. And Warren…

"Nevaeh, focus!" Alan called me back down to earth. "There's also Spider-Man. When he went all dark because of that alien goo, what color did it turn his uniform? That's right, black. And when he got rid of it and went back to being a good guy? Uniform reverts back to the red and blue."

We all had to agree on that one. Great. Miss Watson actually had us having a serious conversation about the color choice and coordination of superheroes. I really hadn't thought it was possible.

When it came time for Sidekick history, Mrs. Watson gave us a quick break to go get our books from our lockers. Crap. I didn't really want to run to my locker – Josh was still giving me the heebie jeebies (weird how I just couldn't trust him to keep up his end of the not-harassing-me bargain), and although I was starting to get into Runaways, my brain was too full of thoughts and guilt and I just wasn't ready to face Warren yet, either.

This, of course, meant I saw Warren right after I got my books from my locker.

I forced my thoughts away from the choices I had made recently and focused on easy, fluffy things. Focus. Good thoughts. Good thoughts. Like, Saturday, being able to work on my powers a little bit. Like, the irony of the universe aligning so that I ended up eating lunch with Stronghold, Layla, and the get-along gang. Like, having to take a class called Sidekick color coordination, and actually getting something out of it.

I smiled at Warren. "I managed to sneak in some reading during Sidekick color coordination, imagine that. So far, I like it. I understand why you gave it to me."

"I figured you would. I know you," Warren said, a strange little half-smile on his face as he stopped in front of me.

"Never thought you didn't," I replied. I mean, yes, there were things he didn't know about me, but he did get me, or at least the me that he saw. If that made any sense. "Shouldn't you be in class, learning all the great hero things, like how to diffuse bombs or build weather machines or something? I wanted to ask you, what the heck do you guys learn about in Hero classes anyway?"

"I had to take a break from class. All that learning." Warren moved his hand, like he was waving it away.

"Uh, yeah, you actually like learning. Have I mentioned how weird that is? Maybe it's just because you guys get to learn all that cool hero stuff and we're left figuring out how to keep your color choice from making you look evil."

Warren gave me a you're-not-making-sense look.

"Long story. I'll tell you about it at work today. You're working, right? I mean, we both just took the weekend off from work, big Homecoming dance and crazy weekend and all, I figured you'd have to work today too, even though it's not your scheduled day. Not that I memorized your schedule or anything weird like that," I added with a nervous laugh. Crap. When will I learn to just stop talking? No need to babble, really.

Unfortunately, Warren didn't say anything. Oh, blast! He probably thought I was some crazy, psycho stalker. Even though I really didn't want to continue to prattle on, I still felt the need to explain. "I really don't have your schedule memorized. I just remembered because you told me. That one time," I finished, lamely. Yeah, really not making it any better.

But seriously, he could jump into the conversation any time, make me feel less like a loser here. "You do work today, right?"

Warren didn't say anything, just took a few more little steps towards me, definitely in my personal bubble at that point, and gave me a weird little half-smile.

"Warren?" Yeah, he had his quiet moments, but this was a little odd.

Then his hand was on my waist, guiding me back against the lockers.

Warren looked down at me. I looked at his eyes, trying to figure out what was going on. I'd never been exactly forthcoming about my crush on Warren, but it wasn't exactly a well-kept secret either. Guys are dense, but surely he must have known something.

So what was his game here?

His hand came towards me and it looked like he might run a knuckle down the side of my face, but he stopped just short of actually touching my skin. His hand ended up on the locker behind me. He was leaning in, the lower half of his body touching mine.

His mouth was a breath away from mine now. He was going to kiss me.

Hesitating just before his lips actually touched mine, he held that position for a second. I closed my eyes, tilted my head slightly. A tiny sigh escaped.

A voice came over the P.A. system, "Sophomore Sidekicks, return to class." No. Way.

Warren was still in the same position, a breath away from actually kissing me. I looked at him, wondering if he'd finish what he'd started.

But no, he took a step back. Did a half-second eyebrow raise, turned, and started walking back to his Junior Hero class.

Are you kidding me?

What had the eyebrow-raise meant? Sorry we didn't get to finish? Another time? We'll pick this back up later?

My concentration was shot for the rest of the afternoon. What had that been all about? I mean, sure, we'd had a moment on Friday night, after the dance. But Saturday, we'd been our normal, friends self.

Not that I minded our normal, friends self. Would I bounce ecstatically through the roof like Tara if it ever became more than that? Hell yes. But if "just friends" was all I could get from Warren, I'd take that too. I've seen enough romantic comedies that there would always be that smidgen of hope that it would turn into something more, but I was happy enough being friends with Warren. I liked being friends with him – I couldn't explain why with words, but being friends with him made me happy. Gave me something to look forward to.

So what the hell was up with the almost-kiss?

When it came time for P.E., I pretty much stormed into the gym. Warren had some explaining to do. I scanned the bleachers, but didn't see him. Which meant I had just wasted a spectacularly pissed off entrance. Dang it.

"He's talking to Principal Powers," Tara said as she came up behind me. She walked towards the bleachers and I followed as she continued her explanation. "Powers wanted to talk to him and the rest of the Homecoming Heroes during Save the Citizen today."

"The Homecoming Heroes?"

"Yeah, people are actually calling them that," Tara said, smirking.

I expected her to join her group of friends. But instead, she bypassed them, heading back to the spot where her, Warren, and I had sat on Thursday.

"What are they talking about?" I asked, after we'd sat down.

"Can't be sure, but rumors say that there are going to be some big changes over the next week," Tara reported.

"Rumors? Like what? The Homecoming Heroes – I really can't believe I just used that phrase in a sentence AND kept a straight face – and moving them to Hero classes? What do they need Warren for? He's already in Hero classes."

"Nope," Tara replied. "Supposedly, the school is going to change their system. Rearrange all the classes."

I stared at her. Yes, I had wondered if this might happen, but for them to actually change things? This school had been on the Hero-Sidekick class division since like, the beginning of time. "So now what?"

Author's Note: First, I have to apologize. There really is no excuse for not updating for three and a half years, and I am sorry to have left it where I did. Good news is I have the rest of the story actually planned out. And I'm determined to finish it. No three year breaks.

Secondly, thanks to the reviewers. All those requests to finish this story (no, I'm not dead) have been running around in my head and finally got me back into writing mode. It makes me sad that I went three years without writing anything (not this or any other stories!), so thank you for the encouragements and prodding me back into writing. I've missed it.

Song lyrics are from Playing With the Big Boys from the Prince of Egypt soundtrack.