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 Ten: Tough Choices
Layla walked to her locker and narrowly escaped the acid spit sent her way. It was a close call, one that left Layla looking around in shock. Three girls to her right laughed, even as the boy blocking her path tried again. Layla was unable to jump out of the way in time, feeling her a hole burn through the very tips of her shoes. She sighed in gratitude for having gone with the sneakers today. Though now she wondered how long they would last against further attacks.
"What's your problem?" Layla asked.
"This school is for superheroes, not for your kind." The boy crossed his arms, watching the flower child he remembered going through power placement with. After last year's Homecoming he'd considered her a Hero, despite her being in Hero Support. Now, after hearing from his parents what the girl and her mother were doing, he looked at her in disgust. "Your mother is a traitor, a villian. You aren't too far behind her. You aren't welcome here." He said as he directed acid spit towards the remainder of her sneakers. Warren reached out and pulled Layla out of the way in time.
"Why not? It's worked for me." Warren said, releasing Layla as she turned and smiled at him.
"Thanks." Layla was relieved and grateful to see Warren standing at her side. The boy in front of her frowned, and kids started standing next to him, until there was no free room to move down the hallway.
"Peace, step aside. We don't want her here." The boy said with a smirk as the kids next to him agreed. Warren looked at the kids he had spent most of his time in high school avoiding in disgust. Heat began building in his right hand until he had a full flame going.
"No." A simple word, Warren smiled. Layla looked worried, the kids were getting even more fired up.
"I tell you her mother's a traitor, and so is she." The boy spit, allowing the sizzling as each drop of acid hit the ground punctuate his words. This was how Will, Ethan, Majenta and Zach found them.
"And I'm telling you, I don't care what you say. She's not leaving." Warren said through clenched teeth. Glancing at her now, he saw the pain in her eyes. It was one that called to his own. If anyone knew what it was like to have a supervillian as a parent, he did. What he saw in her grey eyes was slightly different, a pain of a different sort.
With Warren's refusal to back down the kids became more agitated. Will looked at them and then back at Layla. He felt Majenta shift her weight behind him. The kids were getting rowdier and rowdier. Zach glanced over at Maj before looking at Ethan. He was torn. He'd heard about Layla and her mother from his parents the night before, and discovered Majenta and Ethan had found out also when he'd called to talk to them. All three of them looked at the red head now, seeing her brightly painted toes sticking our from the damaged sneakers. She hadn't been the friend they'd known the previous year since the first day of school.
Something had happened, something they'd wondered about for a while, but the night before when Majenta heard the news from her parents she thought she'd figured it out. It had to do with Layla's mom, she was sure of it. Standing here now, she watched the soft pink lips form a straight determined line on Layla's face. She wouldn't back down, and Majenta knew she'd make the stand with her. Stepping forward Majenta stood to Warren's right.
"Leave her alone." Layla looked at Majenta in surprise. Zach watched and found himself at Majenta's side, as always.
"Leave her be." Zach said, feeling Ethan move to his side.
"Yeah." Ethan spoke up, staring down the kids in front of him as best he could. As the small group stood in defiance, the boy prepared to spit again when Will joined his friends.
"You don't want to do that." Will said, watching the boy's eyes go wide. It became silent. Scared, the kid who had first spotted Layla turned around and walked off. Without a leader the rest of the group disassembled, leaving Layla standing with the greatest friends she'd ever had.
"Th, thanks guys. I, thanks." Lost for words, Layla struggled with what to say after so long. Warren closed his fist around the flame, extinguishing it. Will stepped forward, wanting to hug her but held back.
"We're here when you're ready to talk." Will said, watching as Layla smiled gratefully. She looked at Majenta, at Warren, and Zach, and Ethan, and longed for the day she could tell them everything.
"Take care of your mom, Layla." Majenta said, watching Layla's eyes go wide in surprise. It was the last thing she said before she turned to go to class. It was Maj's way, Zach knew, of letting Layla know they cared about her too. Hearing the bell ring, Layla rushed to her locker for the books she needed before going to class.