Ever since that night, although the two never spoke of it, a friendship seemed to flourish between Warren and Tru. Although Warren used to sit with Will, Layla, Zach, Ethan, and Maj at lunch, he only did it about once a week. For the past four weeks, Warren Peace and Tru Conners had been sitting across from each other at lunch every day. But they never said anything. Warren read as he ate, and Tru wrote. The two never said a single word to each other during the day. Well, Tru didn't say anything to anyone at all during the daytime, and Warren wasn't that much better. Nobody, not even Will, Warren's best friend, understood why the two sat with each other at lunch.
But after school, the two were almost inseparable. Tru was often sitting in a booth at the Paper Lantern so she could talk to Warren during his breaks. After his shift was over, the two usually ended up at Tru's house. The two spent a lot of the time playing their instruments, Tru with her drums and Warren using her guitar, or just talking. Tru liked that the best, although she didn't really talk, as Warren soon found out. She preferred to listen, rather than do the talking.
Warren one time asked her about her family, but she had changed the topic. He had never pursued that certain topic again, knowing he had touched a nerve. He wasn't willing to risk their friendship by doing that again. Although Layla and Will were convinced there was more to their friendship than just a plain friendship, and Warren may have liked it, Tru never allowed it. Yes, occasionally the two did end up kissing, but Tru never brought it up again. And Warren would never say anything about it. For many reasons, the main one being, he wasn't like that. He was sensitive, but still used to keeping all of his emotions bottled up inside of himself.
It was one of these nights, a Friday night, when Tru and Warren were at the large white house that Tru lived in, when Will called. The two were in the middle of playing some music, Warren and Tru both singing a bit. Tru had been surprised how good Warren was at singing and Warren was surprised how sweet Tru could sound when she sang. Her voice was usually rough whenever she spoke to him. Perhaps rough wasn't the proper term. Perhaps torn was.
Tru was sitting at her drums, not playing at the moment, but spinning her drumsticks in her fingers as she read a book that was propped up on her book stand.. Warren was sitting across the room from her, just watching her. Tru kept on looking up at Warren, but quickly looking back down at her book. When Warren's cell phone rang, Tru jumped slightly. Warren smiled his rare smiled, "it's just my cell phone." Tru nodded as Warren took his phone out of his pocket. Tru then looked back down at her book once more.
"Hello? Oh, it's you Will," After that, Warren listened for a few minutes. "I'll ask Tru. Yes, I said Tru. I'm at her house. Tell Layla to get off the line, Will! And also tell her I don't need to explain every little thing to her." Tru looked up at Warren, giving him a questioning look. What in the world was Will and Layla talking about that would mean bringing her into the subject? Warren looked to her, covering his phone up with his hand. "Will and Layla invited me to dinner and paintball. When I told them I was with you, the invited you too. Do you want to go?"
Tru put down her drumsticks and thought for a moment. She shrugged, "we don't have anything better planned. May as well. But I warn you, I'm no good with a gun." Warren told Will that Tru was all right with it and that the two of them would meet Will and Layla at the piazza parlor downtown. They all had enough of the Paper Lantern.
Fifteen minutes later, Warren parked outside of the small pizza parlor, The Pie in the Sky, and Tru got out of the car. She seemed a bit nervous, but Warren said nothing. His hair was tied up, as was hers, but that was usual. Warren was wearing his usual dark outfit, but for once, Tru was not. She was currently wearing a light blue tank top with a pair of jeans and sneakers. Warren had a feeling something was up with Tru, but he was not about to pry into her life. He'd pry into Will and Layla's, but never Tru's.
The two entered the pizza parlor and walked over to the table that Will and Layla were sitting at. Warren sat down beside Tru, who sat across from Layla. Maj, Zach, and Ethan would meet them at the paintball range. Will and Layla looked at the two with questioning looks. Layla cleared her throat. "I know this may seem odd, or rude, but no offense is meant. But Warren, why did you and Tru just start hanging out all of a sudden? Are you two secretly dating or something?"
Warren looked up at Will and glared at him. Tru looked down at her napkin, trying to stifle a laugh. "We're not dating," Warren said forcefully. "I can assure you of that. We're just friends. Now can we just order?" Warren was beginning to regret asking Tru to join them. Not that he didn't like her company. He didn't like the questions that followed.
Layla blushed; she hadn't meant to anger Warren. Will motioned for a waitress and ordered a pie for them all to share. The pizza soon came and the four of them started to eat, Warren, Will and Layla talking while Tru just listened as they discussed their classes. The conversation then turned to the Save the Citizen game from a few weeks before. When Tru had stopped breathing.
"Would you mind not talking about that?" Tru asked quietly. Layla and Will stared at her. It had been the first thing she had said since they had come in. Quickly, the two nodded. They hadn't meant to offend Tru. Warren continued to eat, not meeting Tru's gaze. She sighed and continued to eat her slice of pizza. The silence between the three of them lasted for many minutes. That is until Layla spoke up.
"Do either of you have dates for the Homecoming next Monday? Or are you two going together as friends?" she asked, looking at the expectedly. Warren stopped chewing his slice of pizza and Tru had just been about to bite into her slice when she looked at Layla as if she had suddenly grown a second head.
"Wasn't Homecoming before I got here? When Royal Pain attacked?" Tru asked, as she lowered her slice of pizza to her plate and wiped her hands on the napkin. She happened to like the pizza in Canada a lot better than here. It was too greasy here. Warren looked at Layla with a look that could only mean who too wanted to ask those questions.
Will and Layla laughed before Layla explained. "Because of the fiasco at Homecoming, Principle Powers is allowing us to have another. But she said," Layla took a drink from her can of Coke and started to mimic their principle perfectly. " 'If any detail goes wrong at this Homecoming, that is then end of Homecomings!' I hope nothing happens. I already have my dress, and my escort." She obviously meant Will, who did not look so pleased.
"These Homecomings, are cursed," he muttered beneath his breath. Layla kicked him under the table. Will smiled at her painfully. "So, are you guys going to come?" he asked Warren and Tru.
Warren looked questioningly at Tru, who nodded. "I guess we're going as friends," Warren said. He knew that was the right thing to say the moment Tru smiled. "Come on, let's go meet the guinea pig, the human firefly, and the Popsicle," Warren said to all three of them, who stood up, paid, and left.
