Title: Mother Nature's Call
Disclaimer: I don't own any of the Sky High characters, and include some of my own in this work. All but the characters in the movie are mine.
Feedback: Guys, I really appreciate your feedback and reviews. I'm not sure about Warren being in the same grade as the others. He's a year older, so it makes sense to me that he'd be in grade higher. I took out the reference to him being a junior though, just in case.
Synopsis: Sophomore year comes quickly for Will and friends. When trouble arises from student transfers, members of the small group of friends are faced with difficult choices.
Mother Nature's Call
Chapter Two: The Transfers
It was lunchtime. The halls emptied quickly as students filed into the cafeteria. One table was empty, save the dark brooding figure of Warren Peace. Ethan finished paying for his lunch and quickly spotted the dangerous figure. Smiling as he pushed his glasses up, he walked forward and took a seat. Within minutes the two were joined by the others. Only one person had yet to join the group, Layla. Warren looked around and listened to Zach and Ethan comment on Red Radar.
"She's incredible man, you can't say anything without her knowing it." Ethan said.
"I bet she's listening to us right now," Zach paused, looking uncomfortable. The very thought had made him self conscious.
"She sounds neat," Will commented.
"She's okay." Majenta said begrudgingly. "At least she's not as dorky as All American Boy." Everyone smiled.
"How was your class Will?" Ethan asked, curious as to what awaited the Hero his sophomore year.
"It was fine. I still don't understand why they have Heroes and Sidekicks. Last year's Homecoming proved how stupid that is." Warren grunted at Will's comment, but knew that some things wouldn't change. Or that if they did, they didn't do so quickly.
"Hey Red, why don't you sit with us?" Layla looked to her side and saw a smooth looking blonde at a table with other kids she didn't recognize.
"No thanks, I'm gonna sit with my friends." Layla said, her smile bright and sincere. Standing up, John Grayson blocked her way to get her attention.
"No really, come sit with us. I'm John, and that's Greg, Linda, and Tara." Greg stared at Layla, Linda looked up disinterestedly, and Tara smiled shyly. Layla smiled at them and tried to remember their names. "We just transferred here. Why don't you join us?" Layla looked at the smile plastered on John's face as her own wavered.
"Welcome to Sky High. My friends are waiting for me though." Layla said while trying to move pass the tall young man still blocking her path.
"No really, join us." John said, reaching out and placing his hand on her forearm. Linda reached out and caught Layla's tray as her hands released it. The faintness was sudden and unexpected.
Minutes earlier Warren looked up to see Layla walking towards the table. Feeling a smile coming on, he shoved the urge down deep when a frown immediately replaced it. Layla had stopped, and was now talking to some kids he'd never seen before.
"New friends of yours?" Warren asked Will, tilting his head in her direction. Turning around, Will started to smile but then stopped. Layla was no longer on her way towards their table. In fact, some blonde guy was talking to her and it looked like he was blocking her way. Watching, waiting, Will and Warren stared as Layla was introduced to some new kids. It wasn't until her hands visibly went limp that they became concerned. Within seconds both were up and moving.
"Layla? You okay?" Will asked, one hand on John's shoulder to push him out of his way. Holding onto his girlfriend, Will saw the confusion in her eyes.
"Yes, yes, I think so. I don't know, I just felt so weak all of a sudden." Layla said, confused and slightly embarassed.
"It's okay, come on. Come sit down." Will held her with one hand, grabbed her tray of food with his other, and began walking towards their table to rejoin their friends.
John's face became cloudy as he watched them. He began rubbing his arm where Will had pushed him aside, not thinking of his super strength. John turned slightly to see Warren's displeased stare.
"Hey, we were just trying to make a new friend." John said, noticing the streaks of red in the boy's hair and the dark, malevolent eyes. On the verge of making a comment Warren decided against it. There was no reason why Layla couldn't have other friends, none at all. Just because he preferred being a loner, for as much as these guys would allow him to be, didn't mean that was a path she had to choose. Deciding on a lingering, threatening glare, Warren turned around to join his friends and see how the hippie (his affectionate term for her) was doing.
"Layla, are you sure you're okay?" Will asked, concerned.
"I'm fine, really. I probably just need to eat." Layla said reassuringly. Will looked into her eyes and saw the confusion there. Her eyes were very expressive, but so was her face. She was trying to be strong, was probably embarassed and wanted the attention removed from her. Nodding his head, Will obliged her.
"Go ahead and eat, then. We were just discussing classes. The guys were telling us about Red Radar. She sounds interesting." Will said, noticing Layla's grateful smile.
"She is," Ethan piped up. "She once worked with Infrared. Can you imagine? Being able to irradicate your enemies with an Infrared heat beam? How cool is that!" Will smiled as the guys started in once again on their newest teacher. As Warren sat down, he looked up and saw the concern in his friend's eyes. Both guys felt uneasy about the whole situation. While Layla looked to be doing better, something in their guts told them the new kid was responsible for the sudden weakness she'd experienced.
"So Layla, who were those guys?" Majenta asked, bored of the subject of Red Radar. Turning her head slightly, Layla saw the kids Majenta was talking about. They were all finishing up their lunches, and looked about ready to leave.
"Oh, they're transfer students. The blonde guy is John, and the other is Greg. The brunette with them is named Linda and the strawberry blonde is Tara." Layla said, turning back quickly when John turned his head to look at her.
"I wonder where they transferred from." Majenta couldn't take her eyes off them. They seemed to be acting carefree, but something about it was off, like it was forced. It made her wonder if they knew she had asked about them and that they were now the topic of discussion.
"I don't know." Layla said, looking down at her half eaten lunch. Picking up the slightly green apple, Layla watched as it ripened into a bright red. Smiling once again, she dug into the apple with vigor.
"You don't think they're here to cause any trouble, do you?" Zach asked, looking at the group and watching Majenta's distrusting gaze. "Cuz they gotta know this group will take care of it. Right? No one's gonna mess with us after last year's Homecoming. Right?" Zach asked, unsure.
"They weren't here then. They're new. They probably don't even know about last year's Homecoming." Magenta said softly, surprised as Greg's eyes snapped to look directly at her.
"It's the first day of class guys, I'm sure no one wants trouble." Ethan said, his curiosity growing.
"Guys, come on. They are just new, let it be." Layla's words were drowned out by the ringing of the bell. Lunch was over. Standing up, Will grabbed Layla's and his trays to go take care of them. He was quickly developing a habit of consideration where his girlfriend was concerned. In this case, he just didn't want her walking by that group again.
Staring after him, Warren understood the easy manuever and the natural way Will pulled it off. He could sense his friend's concern, and understandably echoed it.
"Have a good time in class guys," Warren said, encouraging the others to head off to class as he grabbed Majenta's tray. Smiling, Zach and Ethan gratefully handed their trays to him and went off to class with the girls. Grunting, Warren preceded to dump the trash and stack the trays where they belonged. Within a few minutes Will felt Warren at his side. A few minutes later the two nodded at each other as they went their separate ways. They wouldn't see each other again until gym class.