Oh dear my darling little sickos, I seem to be a cruel, inconsistant bitch! I mean, first I post a naughty April Fools prank and I get most of you crying! Then after proving that a lie, I post hours later and then place you in Oxygen Chastity for a month! How a horrible, wicked wench I am!

Admittedly, I have been busy and I've been working on this chapter in my spare time which I seem to not have anymore haha. I finally got a new job at a restaurant...DUN DUN DUN! Yes I know I said I'd never touch the food industry after my hellish job as a Dishwasher (haha Zeke). But here I am. And I am the Hostess with the Mostess! Despite being occaisonally too enthusiastic, I am beloved by my waitresses and the other hostesses and liked by my chefs and the WELL-TREATED dishwashers! Haha, I have to take my hat off to Marty (the owner and my big boss). We treat our dishwashers quite well. No tubs full of food, dishes, cups and other various bussed shit.

We scrape plates, and stack them nicely on the table in front of the large sinks with a NOZZLE. We empty glasses and stack those as well. We place silverware in a little warm tin of water for them as well! No combing through Everything-On-the-Menu Soup! HAW!

On my application, I wrote my times available after school, and that I was available generally anytime on the weekend. Apparently to them that means ALL THE FUCKING TIME. We're short-staffed but hey, bigger percentage of the waitress's tips for me! And I get paid in cash again! YAY!

And then preparing for two AP exams, and prom, and Senior Trip and the Senior Musical production of You're A Good Man Charlie Brown (I'm Lucy...HAWHAW), and various amounts of other myriads of things that take up my time...I hardly have time to paint my nails black, I'M SO TIRED! I mean it's 11:16 right now and I just spent the past couple hours straightening out my prom attire situation and then I continued this chapter...

I didn't want to end the chapter there, but I needed to get this out to you my darlings to make up for lost time. I love you all very much. Be patient with me. I'd never not finish something I started, even if it takes a while. Stay with me my loyal little sickos! For the next chapter will have le sexy time, omnomnom! SO...yeah this chapter has no sexy time...V_V

NOW EXCUSE ME WHILE I HAVE THE DARKNESS CARRY ME DOWN INTO SLEEP! HEARTS AND BATS TO YOU MY PRETTIES!

~Will's POV~

It took a little while to get Zack to calm down. But I eventually got him to come out from hiding in the bathroom stall. And it took me some more time to get him out of the bathroom altogether. But I got him out, and he was calmed down again. I walked him back to class and got a bright greeting from All American Boy who jumped out from under his desk when I came in the room.

I accepted a hearty handshake from the guy. I guess I hadn't thought about it when he'd said it on the first day of school, but blue really did make his eyes pop. I glanced around the classroom nostalgically, thinking of the brief training I'd had in here in becoming a sidekick. The class looked happy to see me. It'd been a while since I'd been in the room.

All American Boy took off his mask, becoming Mr. Boy. He asked, "How's Hero class working out for you?"

I smiled half-heartedly, "It's a lot harder but it's okay. I miss your class though."

Mr. Boy nodded apologetically.

Ethan looked up from his notes and said, "Well at least you have a tutor."

I nodded, "Yeah, Gwen's a big help." I glanced at the board and saw that they'd been taking notes on how to take on a villain's sidekick. There was even a very good chalk portrait of a funny looking villain sidekick with pointy shoes and curvy little horns.

"I hope I'm not interrupting class." I said worriedly, shifting toward the door. Mr. Boy shook his head, "Oh no, Will. We just finished taking notes on Villainous Sidekick Combat. I was just telling the class about when The Commander took on Royal Pain for the last time and I had to grapple with his sidekick, Stitches." He pointed at the portrait on the board. "That's a rough sketch of him."

"You were there?" I asked.

Mr. Boy nodded with a sigh, "Yeah, I guess your dad never mentioned that…"

I shook my head, sadly confirming it. Mr. Boy sighed again, staring into space briefly. At that point I made a note to talk to Dad about his former sidekick. I thought about how he hadn't even remembered Mr. Boy's name when I'd confessed to him about my being a sidekick. It wasn't right and it just wasn't fair. Just because he was Mr. Stronghold, big shot, renown realty salesmen and the Commander, the biggest, most famous Super Hero didn't mean he should be the most arrogant one. I frowned for a moment and then sighed through my nostrils. Warren had said something along the same lines to me the first time he'd ever even said anything to me.

That had been after I'd sent my lunch tray flying over his shoulder when Lash had tripped me. You think you can do anything you want just because your name's Stronghold?

I turned to pay attention to Mr. Boy when he'd leapt up onto his desk, telling another story in his most dramatic manner, blue eyes popping through his mask. My eyes may have watched, and my mouth might have smiled but I was still thinking about Warren.

It was no secret how Warren felt about the Stronghold name. About how he felt about my father. It was something that I occasionally heard about while walking the halls. The whispers. When do you think Peace and Stronghold are gonna have at it again? The glances. Stronghold's dad put Peace's dad in the slammer for four lifetimes. Yeah, he hates his guts. The wonderings. Who do you think would win this time around?

They all thought the predictable thing. And as I kept reminding myself, there was no predicting anything about Warren Peace. In the beginning of the year, I never would have expected to be where I was now. Warren had once been an occasional icy glare across the cafeteria, the dark eyes that glared down at me if I crossed his path in the hallways. His physical assault had not been so sensual once. I thought briefly about how he had left me curled up in the fetal position on the floor of the equipment room the first day of school.

How had it all turned into this? I hadn't really asked myself this.

If you ever cross me again, I'll roast you alive.

How had it come from so much hatred? I had no idea…

"I don't suppose you have a conscience, do you Magenta?" Ethan asked as the bus drove through the streets of Maxville. We'd been talking quietly about her little mode of revenge that had been found this morning. The culprit had not yet been caught, and the hallways still reeked faintly of rotting meat and fly spawn.

Magenta wasn't really paying attention however. She was slumped down with her knees up on the bus seat and she was observing the purple colored streaks in her hair between her fingers. "I think I need to re-dye my streaks…it looks like they're fading," she turned slightly toward Layla who was sitting on the inside beside her, holding out her purple hair. "Doesn't it look like they're fading?"

I hadn't really noticed, but now that I looked at her streaks, they did indeed look like they'd faded.

Layla humored the mastermind and looked closely at her hair. "Yes, I think they're more lavender than imperial purple."

Warren's red streaks never seem to fade...

Magenta shook her head with a sigh and turned back away. Ethan adjusted his glasses, "I guess I'll take that as a no." Magenta finally decided to participate in the conversation, still studying her faded hair. "I do happen to have a conscience. It's buried in the backyard in a box with the bones of your recently deceased pet."

I leaned my head back against the seat, smiling lightly at the small talk. Magenta with her usual joking carelessness (at least I hoped she was joking) was a welcome thing for me, as long as she wasn't giving me the thousand eyed stare that knocked my pupils out of my eyes so she could climb inside and scrutinize every bit of my being.

And when the bus rolled to a stop in White Hills, I pushed myself up from my seat. Layla snuck around Magenta behind me, pointing at her, "You have to start behaving, missy."

"Oh please, I'm shaking in my purple pantyhose." Magenta retorted impassively.

Ron Wilson, bus driver, gave us a smiling nod, "See you tomorrow!"

"See ya, Ron." I said over my shoulder before hopping down the steps of the bus and onto the sidewalk. Layla joined me down on the sidewalk as the doors closed behind us. And then the bus gave a rumbling grumble, pulling away from the bus stop and riding leisurely down the street.

"So, what're you doing tonight?" I asked. I tucked my hands into my pockets and said, "I have some homework I guess."

Layla laughed, "You guess?"

I laughed in my response, "Yeah, I guess…And I have no idea what my parents are plotting for this evening." Layla smiled as we walked together, "I have some homework too. But I have um…plans for this evening…"

"Is that so?" I inquired, "What kind of plans?"

Layla blushed, "Well…I haven't told anyone but Magenta…well, I didn't exactly tell her, she just knew somehow…but anyways, I'm kind of…going on a date?"

My eyebrows rose. "Really?"

Layla giggled nervously, twiddling and wringing her fingers as we walked. "Yeeeah…at the Paper Lantern." I grimaced and laughed. "Oh, yay, Chinese food. Always romantic. GAG!" She gave my arm a light push, "Be quiet."

"Who's your date?" I asked.

She bit her smile, still blushing, "Well, he's a Junior. It's…Silvanus."

I cocked my eyebrow, "Who?"

"Everyone calls him Stagboy?" Layla tried.

"Oh…Oh!" I exclaimed. The image of him came to my mind. I didn't have any classes with him, not even gym. But I'd seen him in the hallways and in the cafeteria. He was Hero class. He had long brown hair that was always tied back and forest green eyes that were easily spotted across a room. He was probably about Warren's height.

I'd never seen it before, but according to the words of others, Silvanus Lombardi's power was the transformation into a half man-half deer with great antlers and the call over nature and its creatures.

"Whoah, wait a minute, is that what you were stuttering about this morning?" I asked, laughing and dancing around her as we walked. "Are you embarrassed? Layla! How could you not tell me? How could you tell Magenta first instead of me?" I seized my heart in my ten-fingered grasp. "Your best friend! I—am—hurt!" I dropped my hands after I said that and sheepishly tucked them back in my pockets. I realized that I'd been doing the exact same thing for weeks, except it had all been more than a simple date, so I had absolutely no room to talk whatsoever…

"Hey! I said that I didn't actually tell Maj! She just knew…and that's different! You're a guy…" she said, pushing me again.

"You had no problem telling me that you were the one who left a pretty little sunflower in Timmy Rogers' cubby back in the second grade because he said he really liked sunflowers and you really liked him!" I teased, raising a hand as if in exasperation. But I tucked it back into my pocket, because once again…I had no room to talk.

"Yeah I guess that's true. But that was in second grade." Layla smiled, tucking her hair behind her ears. "Well, as long as I'm spilling my guts here, I guess I might as well make another confession …" She looked at me nervously and I looked at her patiently. I did my best to swallow the lump forming in my throat. For a moment I strayed away from what we'd been talking about, wanting her to say that she knew what I'd really been up to lately. It would've saved me from having to tell her. But then again it wasn't exactly all about me now was it?

"I had a crush on Ethan."

"Eh…wha…?" I lifted an eyebrow.

"Well, I don't know if it's past tense yet." She explained. "I mean, I did my best to make it kinda obvious that I liked him…especially after someone told me that they thought it looked like I like-liked you."

"Whoa, what?" I asked, my eyes opening a little bit wider. Layla was just full of news today!

"Yeah, I know. Gross, right?" She asked.

I frowned, "Am I gross?"

Layla laughed, "No, not like that. I mean like, I feel like you're more of my brother than anything else in the world. It would feel…not right if you and I…you know."

I couldn't even bring myself to imagine it. It wasn't because I really did feel like Layla's sibling, but because I couldn't see past the Warren Peace standing in the middle of my head, refusing to let my mental imaginings wander away from him as he stood there with his dark gaze looking down at me, his muscled arms crossing and his head tilting. "Yeah, I know what you mean." I said, nodding a little.

"Yeah. I just think that he's probably too smart to really notice how I feel about him. He just overlooks it I think. Either that or he doesn't really like me. That's why I said yes when Silvanus asked me out on a date." Layla smiled, blushing again.

I shook my head, "Is it because he has long hair? Because I can grow mine out if you'd like. My dad would probably disown me, but you know." Layla laughed, slipping her arm through mine. "You're not my type, Will Stronghold."

I smiled, nudging her with my shoulder. "Well, I hope you have fun on your date tonight." Layla hummed her agreement and just as I caught sight of our houses, she asked, "Wanna help me pick out what to wear?"

I leaned my head back with a loud, dramatic groan, "I've not only been friend-zoned, I've been made into a girlfriend!" I extricated my arm from hers and exclaimed, "You are emasculating me!"

Layla laughed again. "Goddess forbid!"

"Now if you'll excuse me, I'm gonna go into my mancave, turn on some manly rock music, comb my chest hair, and grunt impressively!" I exclaimed, stomping past the sidewalk to her front door. Layla called after me, "That just sounds stereotypical and is only encouraging males to live up to an immoral standard!"

"Grunty-grunt, crotch-scratching and football!" I tossed over my shoulder, climbing the steps to the porch. I only heard Layla laugh again. "Good luck on your date!" I yelled, walking up to the door and unlocking it. I stepped inside and closed the door behind me. I headed straight for the living room.

I paused uneasily when I saw that Dad's robot eye had made it over to the bookshelf. I shook my head and turned on my playlist on my iPod. I listened contently to A Perfect Circle sing to me as I sat down on the couch and set my bag down on the floor. I unzipped it and yanked my books from its folds.

Get ready to have the shit analyzed out of you, villainus influentia!

~Warren's POV~

I set the wok on fire, charring the pepper beef. Zeke gave an enthusiastic, "Whoo! This is the best day of my life!" from where he stood at the sink, spraying down dishes with the new nozzle and sink additions. Shu went scurrying by, "Stop playing, idiot!" adding a slap to the back of Zeke's green head.

She came up beside me, shaking up the pan noodles to have an excuse to stand beside me for a minute. "Nǐ rènwéi tā shì gāoxìng háishì shénme?" Do you think he's happy or what? I glanced over at the dishwasher station, void of the usual tubs of water, fitted and refitted with brand new sinks and a new dishwasher machine to replace the old temperamental one. Moss Head seemed to be having a damn good time while he worked. I was impressed with how much better he was doing with keeping up.

"Yěxǔ yīdiǎn diǎn." I answered. Maybe a little.

Shu smirked, "Xiǎo húndàn rènwéi wǒ wèi tā zuò. Tā rènwéi, zhè shì tā de xīn wánjù." Little bastard thinks I did it for him. He thinks it's his new toy.

I shook my head, chuckling as I spoke, "Xiànzài, Shǔ, bùyào gàosu wǒ shuō, nǐ bù wéi qián ma?" Now, Shu, don't tell me that you did it for the money?

"Dāngrán, wǒ tā mā dele! Tā kuài xǐ cài, gèng kuài huòdé gèng duō de bǎnkuài yǒu gèng duō de rén lái shàng xiágǔ zìjǐ. Cóng'ér shǐ wǒ gèng duō de xiànjīn, yě ràng suǒyǒu wǒmen dédào tā mā de zhèlǐ de guānbì shíjiān, ér bùshì yī fēnzhōng, yīnwèi gāisǐ de zàng pánzi hòu!"

She laughed nudging me with her fist. Of course I fucking did! The faster he washes dishes, the faster more plates get out there for more people to gorge themselves on. Thus making me more cash and also letting all of us get the fuck out of here at closing time and not a minute later because of goddamned dirty dishes!

I smirked, chuckling still, setting the plate for the pepper beef.

"I don't even care what you guys say about me! I feel like the most pampered dishwasher of all dishwashers in this godforsaken city! Hee-HEE!" Zeke exclaimed, spraying water with the nozzle up into the air over the sink like a sprinkler.

Shu shook her head at him, but good god I actually saw her smile. "Yǒu hěnduō jīngshén zài wǒmen de xiǎo Mò Sī Tóu." There's a lot of spirit in our little Moss Head.

I lowered one eyebrow at her after setting the pepper beef on a bed of rice. Bai Da took the plate and finished it off with some of his sauce, "Tā dédàole hěnduō kǒu." He's got a lot of mouth too.

"Tā ne!" Shu laughed, waving a hand at Zeke. That he does!

"Xiànzài, wǒ qīn'ài de shū, nǐ huì bù huì fāzhǎn wèi Mò Sī Tóu xiànzài nǐ huì xǐhuan ma?" I asked. Now, my dear Shu, you wouldn't be developing a liking for Moss Head now would you? Shu cocked an eyebrow at me and backhanded me in the shoulder before handing me a meal slip and leaving my side.

Table 14
Steamed vegetable bowl
Vegetarian rice w/extra water chestnuts

Vegetarian noodles

I pulled in a sigh and quickly went to work putting together Table 14's meal, ignoring Zeke's content, leisurely singing. Bai Da nudged past me to finish laying out an eggroll board. I reached into my back pocket and fished out my handkerchief. I brushed it across my perspiring forehead, and down my face.

"Hey, Moss Head, open the door and let some air in here!" I barked.

Out of the corner of my eye I saw Zeke salute me, "Right away, mon cap-i-tahn!" I rolled my eyes, stirring up the noodles in the pan with tongs, trying to coat them evenly. I sighed in relief when a cool breeze caressed my back.

Bai Da finished with his plating for Table 2 just as I finished plating Table 14…just as a Lan walked in. She glanced at the meal tickets, "Goddamnit." She muttered. "Where the hell is Rong Hua anyways?"

"She called in sick." Bai Da answered.

"Great. Warren, do me a favor and take those to Table 14?" Lan asked.

I nodded briefly, balancing two plates on my forearm and hand, and picked up the other one. We were a bit short staffed tonight, but admittedly I was a bit grateful for it. I got to see less of Lan and hear less of her complaining of whoever the hell she was dating this time…Reid was his name? And I had a shorter shift tonight on top of it! I was just waiting for my relief to arrive. As I followed Lan out the kitchen door, I realized that I preferred the ridiculous, tree-headed, dishwashing dumbass over her. And not just because the kid gave a fucking decent blowjob…

I weaved around the tables, heading to the front while Lan headed to the back. My eyebrows raised briefly when I saw who was sitting at Table 14.

"Oh, hi, Warren!" she said, smiling with a little wave.

I set the plates down onto the table. "Don't tell me little Stronghold is leaving you hanging again?" I asked sarcastically. But Hippie shook her head, nervously twirling her red hair between her fingers. "Oh, no. Hah…I'm on a date."

I nodded briefly. "Uh huh." I said, about to return to the kitchen. "Well,"

"There he is." She said, pointing around me, toward the bathrooms. But I shook my head, "And I don't exactly care." I turned, thinking to make my way back to the kitchen but I paused. I smirked and reached up to rub it off, trying not to laugh at this interesting situation. Here came a guy with long, tied back brown hair, and trademark forest green eyes. His jeans were most likely not made in a sweatshop. And his shirtsleeves reached leisurely past his wrists, split a bit at the pale collar and loosely looped with rawhide, most likely all naturally woven or something.

He saw me and glanced at Hippie who smiled back at him. He approached warily. "Peace." He said respectfully with a nod, standing at my height. I cocked an eyebrow. "Lombardi."

I put my hand on the table, and leaned down slightly to whisper loudly to Hippie, "Just so you know, Silvanus means 'from the forest' and he lives up to his name. When he's about to cum, antlers sprout out of his head."

Hippie's eyes widened and she blanched and then blushed.

"Warren, please don't talk to her like that." He said, gently touching my shoulder in a man-to-man sort of way. I looked back at Lombardi, still highly amused and nudged his hand from my shoulder. "Just thought it'd be good for her to have a little warning so she doesn't risk getting an eye gouged out. Have a nice time."

I walked past Lombardi, leaving him and his date in temporary silence until I got back into the kitchen. Once inside I allowed myself to laugh a little. My sense of humor might not have been the most polite out there, but I still found it amusing.

As I returned to the stoves, I thought briefly to one of the most interesting fucks I'd ever had. I'd shared a one night stand with the guy a month or so before the year ended last year. And Lombardi had been a fucking decent one. I'd never had to really fight for dominance before him. I doubt if he ever had to before either.

He'd led me back to his house after making his intentions clear with his eyes from across the room in The Gray Cue which, at the time, I'd thought was an odd place for the Lombardi to be. Hardly a foot over the threshold and he'd shoved me back against a wall, assaulting my mouth. I remembered the sweaty brawl it had turned into. An onslaught for supremacy. A bruising battle for control.

Our clothes were strung out around his living room, slightly ripped and forgotten, furniture was upset, there was probably a dent or two in a few walls, and a cat was hissing from somewhere in the room. He had tried to turn me around against the couch. I remember laughing at him, and shaking my head, growling something like "Nice try" at him before I shoved him back off of me. He struggled against me, growling under his own breath as I turned him against that fancy looking desk in the room. I held him against it by the back of his neck, hardly touching him while I fucked him. And he tried to resist the entire time, still trying to gain hegemony.

It was more an animalistic fight than anything else. I suppose that's what you get when you fuck a creature of the wood, or the guardian of the forest, or the child of the Horned God, Herne's son or whatever the hell he referred to himself as. And I really hadn't been lying about the sprouting antlers thing. It had surprised me when a rack big enough to make a redneck run for his shotgun had grown from his head as his body tightened around my dick and ground out a yell.

But I still managed to get off, and find my clothes in the dimness of his living room. I remembered that he'd told me not to smoke in his house as I attempted to light a cigarette after I'd gotten my jeans back on while he'd reclined in a naked, relaxed Zen on the couch he'd tried to fuck me against. I had lit up anyway, gave him a courteous, smoky "Fuck you", swept my shirt, jacket and boots into my fist and left.

"Hēi! Zhè shì zěnme huí shì, Warren?" Hey! What's up, Warren?
I paused inside the kitchen door. It was Min Zhi. "Nǐ de míngzì de yìsi shì cōngmíng de zhīshì? Rúguǒ shǔ shí dehuà, nǐ huì bù huì wǎnle bàn gè xiǎoshí." Your name means clever? If it were true, you wouldn't be here half an hour late.

He snorted, cocking an eyebrow at me, "Zézé, huānyíng nín. Wǒ hěn gāoxìng dào hòu bànyè." Gee, you're welcome. I'd be glad to take over for the rest of the night.

I walked past him and went to the door, pulling my jacket off of the rack. "Wǒ dǎkǎle, Shū!" I'm clocking out, Shu!

"Hey! Zhi! What's up, my manbitch? Look at my new toy!" Zeke called, spraying water into the air above the sinks again.

Min Zhi looked over at me as I signed out on the board. "Mò Sī Tóu shì lúnbān? Wǒ jiāng nǐ diǎnrán, xiànzài, rúguǒ nǐ líkāi wǒ yǔ tā. Tā shì jīn wǎn tài gāoxìngle." Moss Head is on shift? I will set you ablaze right now if you leave me with him. He's too happy tonight.

I shrugged unapologetically. "Wǒ yǒu gèng hǎo de shìqíng yào zuò." I have better things to do. Shu went trotting by with a tub in her arms as I pushed the door open. "Shì a, tā mā de!" Yeah, like to fuck!

I gestured after her as she disappeared again, "Mhmm."

Zeke waved a soapy, turquoise glove and smiled, "See ya, buddy!" Despite myself, I gave the happy snot headed fuck a raised hand and said before I went out the door, "Give the late bastard hell, Moss Head, and don't call me that." I stepped down into the parking lot as the door closed behind me and I reached back, pulling loose my hair.

I brushed my fingers through it as I made my way to my bike. I reached for my helmet and paused when my pocket started vibrating against my leg. I shoved my hand into my pocket and yanked out my cellphone. I looked at the ID and it said 'Mom'.

A sigh escaped me, and I brushed the back of my hand across my mouth before accepting the call and holding my cell to my ear. "Hello."

"Hey! You off work yet?" came her voice, loud and suspiciously cheerful.

"Yes." I answered, straddling my bike.

"Perfect! Listen, I thought maybe I could slip away for an hour or two and you and I could go get something to eat at that diner we had breakfast in at 3am that one time? You know? Mannory's?" She eagerly said.

I shook my head against the phone, glancing down to the dirty, cracked ground below the wheels of my bike. "I can't, I have plans." I said quietly and gruffly.

"Oh." She said, and there was a long silence.

I fidgeted slightly on my bike. "Another time, Mom." I said, "I'll see you." And with that I ended the call. I shoved my phone back into my pocket and I slipped on my helmet, doing up the strap under my chin. I flipped on the motor, and started backing up.

"Warren!"

"Oh for fuck's sake…" I growled.

Lan hurried down the steps and over to my bike. "Hey. Glad I caught you."

"The hell do you want? I'm trying to escape this saucy hell hole." I grunted.

She bit her lip for a moment and then touched my shoulder, "Um, well, I'm off at 8:30. Do you want to hang out tonight?" I shrugged her hand off and shook my head in my helmet. "No," I said, "I don't want to. Go 'hang out' with your boyfriend." With that I lifted my boot from the ground and revved my bike out from behind the restaurant and gunned it down the street, heading towards White Hills with the wind cutting past my chest.

~Will's POV~

I shook out my writing hand and closed my notebook. Then for good measure I slammed shut my textbook. I swept everything back into my bag and collapsed back onto the couch with a groan. "I'm droppin' out…"

If becoming a super hero meant writing myriads of seemingly endless essays like that for the next four years, maybe there was a simpler line of work. Who knew there were so many symptoms, telltale signs, and types of villainus influentia?

I dragged my hands down my face and then after a moment of stillness, I pushed myself up from the couch. I wandered into the kitchen, glancing at my watch. It was almost 6:30 pm. Quietly, I flipped on the TV to the news.

The news anchor started, "Mayhem erupted in Alaska as Jack Frost rose from the snow after three years in hiding wearing a horrifying suit of armor that absorbs frozen water for power. Jack Frost has terrorized the cities of Anchorage and Fairbanks and is now heading toward Juneau, the state's capital. Unfortunately for Jack Frost, we have just received word that the Commander and Jetstream have joined forces with Grizzly Man and the,"

I flipped off the TV, satisfied that I knew where my parents were and that they weren't going to be home anytime soon. They'd fought Jack Frost three years ago and beaten the snowflakes out of him so I wasn't too worried. At worst, the ice cube would just bury himself under tons of snow again and hide out for another three years.

I glanced around the kitchen, wondering if I felt like eating anything. And then my eyes fell on the garbage can. A banana peel was hanging out from it. I took off the lid and pushed the banana peel inside. I tied up the ends and pulled the bag from the can.

I started mumbling under my breath that new song I heard from the Band of Horses. I didn't really know the lyrics so it was mostly gibberish crumbling from my mouth in the tune that sounded something like the song…I hoped quietly that I wasn't the only one who did that…

I trotted out the kitchen door and to the garage where I plopped the full bag in a can with three other bags. I grimaced. It was starting to smell and there were a few flies buzzing happily around them, determined to get inside and gorge themselves before they dropped dead. I shook my head at the can and seized it. I pushed open the door and kicked it closed behind me. Carrying the heavy can of waste was easy enough for me for obvious reasons. I set it down at the end of the driveway for the garbage truck to pick up early the next morning. I scrubbed my palms together and nodded curtly at the garbage, bidding it a disgusted Godspeed and farewell.

My ears perked suddenly when an attention-claiming whistle reached them. I turned quickly and looked down the street. And fucking hell, there was Warren Peace. Standing leisurely on the sidewalk with his hands tucked into his pockets. I smiled widely.

He smirked his trademark smirk and I felt my face heat up a little. Then he reached up and tucked his hair behind one ear, making my stomach do a backflip and heat up as if it were blushing as well. I swallowed to wet my dry throat as he gave a slight tilt of his head down the street behind him. I glanced toward Layla's house, and remembered that she was on a date. So I smiled again, and quickly jogged down the sidewalk after Warren who was already walking away.

I caught up to him, hardly panting a few yards from the nook between bushes and fencing where Warren usually kept his bike.

"You got off work early." I commented as I walked beside him.

He nodded, "Yeah. I would've gotten off earlier if my relief hadn't been so late." He stepped between the bushes and the fence and rolled his bike back out from between them. I saw his black helmet hanging from one handlebar as usual, but I also saw something new. Right behind where Warren would normally sit, there was a dark, grainy, earthy blue colored helmet with flecks of black strapped to the seat. The shade was darkly tinted and clear of any scratches or imperfections.

"I got you something." He said, undoing the straps that held the helmet to the seat. He turned to me and presented it. And I still stared at it in disbelief. He'd bought me a helmet?

He cocked an eyebrow and held it closer to me.

My eyes shot to his and I looked back to the helmet taking it gingerly from his hands, "Uh," "I know you don't need it, but I'd prefer not to have to carry my bike down a dozen flights of stairs again." He said, shrugging lightly and smirking his half smirk.

I ran my fingertips along the smooth, untarnished dark blue surface. I looked at him as he straddled his motorcycle, pulling on his own black helmet with its dark shade onto his head and strapping it under his chin.

I quickly did the same with my helmet and started to mount the bike. He reached back to take my arm to help me aboard as he usually did. I slipped my arms around his waist and gave him a careful squeeze. Warren started his bike and twisted the throttle slightly before lifting his boot from the ground, letting us free from stillness.

Warren had bought a helmet just for me. This told me that the spot behind him on his motorcycle was a place that was for me. This helmet meant I'd be accompanying him often. And even the bluish color told me that he had acknowledged me or thought about me while selecting it.

I have to thank him somehow…