DISCLAIMER: Sky High is not mine. I do not own It's No Good, either, which is by Depeche Mode. The name 'Bethany Bright' was thought up by Stephanie Clear who is an awesome writer on this site.
"I can't believe I let you guys drag me out here." Warren sat at the bar of a very busy, very kitschy dance club.
"It's a celebration!" Will exclaimed cheerily, wrapping one arm around his new girlfriend, Agnes. Yes, it was Agnes Gordon from the Pizza Playground in all of her glory. Layla couldn't help but feel jealous as the two of them got dangerously close, brushing up against each other in ways that weren't generally accepted in public. Apparently dance clubs were different like that.
"I heard all about your new costumes." Agnes gushed leaning around Will to be closer to Layla and Warren. Just what they wanted…
"Do you tell her everything?" Warren glowered, staring at Will with a look that would have killed if it could have.
"It's not exactly top secret stuff, Warren." Will smirked, choosing to be oblivious to how angry his teammate was. Layla, the Switzerland of the trio, silently sipped on her diet coke occasionally glancing from Will to Warren.
"Yeah, well…" Warren huffed. "Whatever. It's just like Layla with her interview."
"Is not!" Layla protested in a loud voice. "I'm being a sort of… a kind of… role model. Will's just trying to get laid." She shrugged, stating the truth matter-of-factly.
"I am not trying to get laid!" Will looked at Layla angrily. "I'm just trying to move on." He gritted his teeth. "Unlike some other people…"
Layla's mouth dropped open slightly as she looked at Will, hurt that he would make a point to say that he was moving on.
"Oh, guys, let's not fight!" Agnes smiled brightly as if it would make things better . "C'mon, Will, I like this song! We can dance…" She nuzzled her face close to his. Will laughed awkwardly, trying his hardest to go against his nature and be smooth for once.
Soon, Agnes was on the crowded dance floor with Will, shamelessly grinding her hips against his and every now and then letting a giggle slip past her lips. Layla turned her bar stool so that she could watch them, green with envy. She finished off her diet coke, setting the empty glass on the bar, and looked at Warren.
"You wanna dance?" She smiled slightly.
"I don't dance." He said it simply.
"I've seen you dance before." Layla crossed her arms, looking him straight in the eyes.
"Yeah, well…" Warren trailed off, eyeing the different couples on the dance floor.
"You're dancing with me." Layla stood up and grabbed Warren's hand, tugging gently so that he would follow her out to the dance floor. It was close. There were people crowded all around them forcing them to narrow the space between their bodies. The music was loud and the bass practically caused everything inside the club to vibrate. The DJ bobbed his head to the beat, changing songs once more.
I'm going to take my time
I have all the time in the world
to make you mine
it is written in the stars above
The beat was slow, but constant, and the two of them moved as if the music was coming from inside of them. Although they had a little bit of room, Layla danced closer to Warren. He didn't object. In fact, he was secretly enjoying himself.
the gods decree
you'll be right here by my side
right next to me
you can run, but you cannot hide
He looked down to see Layla staring straight ahead at his chest. He smiled to himself, but quickly looked away the moment his eyes met with hers. They were two fairly confident individuals, but when they were in each other's company something happened to that confidence.
don't say you want me
don't say you need me
don't say you love me
it's understood
don't say you're happy
out there without me
I know you can't be
'cause it's no good
Layla had always considered 'feminine' to be an insult. She thought that the words 'feminine' and 'masculine' were stereotypical and went against her feminist values. She would have preferred being called 'confident' or 'intelligent'. Somehow, though, Layla felt feminine in Warren's presence and didn't mind. She felt small and fragile when she was next to him, partially because he was so much taller than she was but also because of his inexplicable aura of strength and mystery.
I'll be fine
I'll be waiting patiently
till you see the signs
and come running to my open arms
Warren had thought that he had found the perfect woman in his freshman year at Sky High. Just three years ago he had been dating Bethany Bright, known to some as Freeze Girl. She was beautiful in body, spirit, and mind. Her looks were comparable to that of a supermodel and she carried herself with the grace of a swan. She'd told him that she was leaving him because he couldn't open up and because his closed-off personality caused her pain. Pain was the last thing Warren had wanted to give Beth, but life doesn't always do what you want it to. Now Layla was something entirely different. She wasn't beautiful in the same sense that Beth had been. She was awkward and even silly at times. The one positive quality Layla possessed that Beth had not was persistence. She would never give up on him or even Will no matter how he treated her.
when will you realise
do we have to wait till our worlds collide
open up your eyes
you can't turn back the tide
For Layla, her feelings for Warren had been growing since that night that Will stood her up at the Paper Lantern. Warren had been there when she was feeling so very low and, although it had come from a fortune cookie, he had given her good advice. Over the years, they'd become close friends. Although their relationship was friendship and nothing more, Layla had felt for him all along what she was experiencing right then that night on the dance floor in full force. She had always been attracted to him a little bit but, being Will Stronghold's faithful girlfriend, she had pushed those feelings to the cellar of her mind. Now Will was being stupid once again and Layla could feel herself falling for Warren.
don't say you want me
don't say you need me
don't say you love me
it's understood
don't say you're happy
out there without me
I know you can't be
'cause it's no good
The song changed seamlessly to an upbeat pop song by the teen idol of the moment. Warren sighed, stopping his dancing, and left the dance floor without saying a word. Layla wrinkled her eyebrows, confused and disappointed at his sudden departure. She left the dance floor soon after and followed him outside of the club.
"Something wrong?" She looked up at Warren, concern showing in her big brown eyes.
"Yeah," He spoke softly, not even looking Layla in the eyes. "Something is wrong." Layla took a few steps closer to Warren, speaking hesitantly.
"What is it?" Her voice lowered. She was treading on thin ice with him and she could tell.
"You're using me." Warren lifted his head to look at Layla. "And normally I wouldn't mind going along for the ride, but it just doesn't feel right."
"I'm not using you." She objected, shaking her head emphatically at his words. "I would never do that."
Warren wanted to speak up, saying that she had used him to get to Will in their freshman year, but something told him that he should just give up the argument. It was the partial truth, though. Layla wouldn't have danced with Warren had Will come alone and not with Agnes. He knew it, too. Warren sighed, trying to exhale his tension along with his breath.
"You wanna get out of here?" He looked up at Layla who immediately relaxed, glad that he'd dropped the subject of her using him.
"Will and Agnes--"
"Could probably care less about what we do." Warren finished her statement for her. Layla thought about it for a moment, coming to agree with what he'd said.
"Yeah, getting away from here would be nice." She smiled a little bit to Warren who returned the expression.
"The Paper Lantern is a block away. My place is right above it." Layla nodded, eager to find out what Warren's apartment looked like. She tilted her head skyward as they walked, her eyes fixed on Orion's Belt with a smile on her face.
"What?" Warren glanced over, noticing that her attention was on the sky and not on him.
"Orion's Belt. Before my dad passed he used to quiz me on the names of the stars. I only remembered Orion's Belt - Mintaka, Alnilam, and… go figure. I forget the third one." She laughed to herself. Warren just smiled.
"Alnitak." He looked down at her. "I'm pretty sure it's Alnitak." Layla looked up at Warren, surprise showing on her face.
"Yeah, that's the one. You're into astronomy?" She tilted her head with a tiny smile playing on her lips.
"Not really. My father was, though." There was a sudden heaviness in the air as a discussion about astronomy brought up the subject of Warren's father, Baron Battle.
"It's clear out tonight." Layla tilted her head skyward once more, eyeing all the stars whose names she'd forgotten. "You can see all of the stars."
"Yeah…?" Warren glanced to the sky, taking a look for himself.
"Just imagine how beautiful it would be if our atmosphere chock full of smog wasn't in the way." Warren smirked at the statement. She really was a flower child, just like Coach Boomer had said on the first day of school. Layla's power over nature suited her. She loved the green earth more than the people who inhabited it. He thought that that was sort of cute in an offbeat kind of way.
"Here we are." He stopped, looking up at the glowing red sign over the Paper Lantern's front entrance for a moment before leading Layla into the building and back to the kitchen. She looked around curiously, having never seen the kitchen of her favorite restaurant. Soon, the two of them came upon a metal staircase leading to the loft above the restaurant. Warren climbed it first so he could open the door to the apartment for Layla in a display of chivalry.
"Nice," She smiled, surveying the living room with her eyes. The room was free from anything personal like trophies, certificates or baby photos. The walls, though, were covered in framed artwork. Anything from black and white photography to oil paintings of picturesque landscapes, it was all over the walls. The only amateur photograph was one of a stunning woman with dark features standing next to an equally attractive man and holding a tiny little toddler who shared their dark looks. Layla assumed correctly that the three in the picture were Warren's mother, father, and self.
"Warren, is that you?" A woman's voice called from a room away.
"Yeah." He raised his voice a bit so that his mother could hear him. "I brought company, so…"
Her curiosity getting the better of her, Mrs. Peace popped her head out of her bedroom to see who Warren meant by 'company'.
"Oh, hello." She smiled at Layla who waved back at the woman. She was more mature than she had been when the picture of their family had been taken. Her lips weren't as pouty and she had faint wrinkles around her mouth, but other than that she looked the same. Her eyes were a dark brown that could have easily been mistaken for little black almond-shaped pools. Mrs. Peace's hair was a dark brown, thick and slightly wavy. Her aura was one of confidence and, looking like she did, Layla didn't blame her.
"Hi…" Layla smiled shyly at her. "I'm Layla."
"Of course! I've heard about you." Mrs. Peace looked from Layla to Warren and back again. "You're the girl who controls nature, yes?" Layla nodded, not sure what to think. Obviously Warren had spoken about her. Either that or someone else had spoken about her.
"Well… There are leftovers in the fridge if you two get hungry. I also bought strawberry ice cream, your favorite." She smiled at Warren, turning to walk back inside her bedroom.
"That's you?" Layla pointed to the photograph of Warren and his parents.
"Yeah, that's me when I was three." He smiled just a little bit. "I can't believe that my head was ever that big." Layla laughed a little, her eyes fixed on the photograph for a second or two before looking back at Warren.
"I had a big head when I was little, too." She sighed. "The doctor even ordered tests to make sure nothing was wrong with me." Warren nodded.
"Yeah, never had tests done but… Damn." He smiled at the picture, silently wishing that his family was still whole again. The year the picture had been taken was the year that his father had left the family in pursuit of world domination. Things were never simple with superhero or super villain parents.
Layla plopped down, taking a seat on the living room sofa. She leaned back with her head on a pillow, sighing softly. She was relaxing, even closing her eyes for a moment, but then her eyes opened as she looked over to Warren with a tiny smile.
"Ice cream?" He suggested, wanting some for himself.
"Sure." Layla began to get to her feet, ready to scoop out and serve her own desert, but Warren stopped her.
"Don't worry about it. I'll get you a bowl." Warren made his way over to the kitchen, pulling two small bowls from one of the cupboards. He grabbed a tablespoon and reached into the freezer to pull out a container of strawberry ice cream. It was hard and for a moment he thought that he would have to heat it with his powers just so the spoon could penetrate its icy surface. He scooped out several healthy-sized dollops of the sweet, filling both bolds with its creamy goodness. Warren's mouth was already watering from looking at the icy pink stuff. He snatched up two smaller spoons, sticking one in each bowl and tucking the ice cream back into the freezer before walking back over to the coach where Layla sat.
"Thanks," She smiled up at him, accepting her bowl. Warren took a seat next to her. "So…" She took a spoonful of ice cream into her mouth. "Strawberry's your favorite?"
"Yeah," Warren nodded, swallowing his ice cream so quickly that it gave him a 'brain freeze'. "I like it best with all sorts of things in it, though. Sprinkles, nuts, fudge…" He took another bite, shrugging. "But it's just fine on its own, too."
"My favorite's pistachio. The green kind, you know?" Warren smiled faintly.
"Greenie through and through, huh?" Layla laughed and nodded in response.
"Don't vegetarians hate dairy, though?" He tilted his head in her direction.
"Oh, no, that's vegans. I believe that if milk can be produced without harming the creature it comes from it's safe to be consumed. Plus, I'm a real sucker for chocolate milk, so…" She smiled.
"I don't know how you can not crave meat. Steak, pepperoni, bacon…" Layla just wrinkled her nose in distaste.
"I guess it's easier when you've been raised by a mother who can talk to animals. It's hard to eat something you can carry on a conversation with." Warren nodded, knowing that if his mother possessed the ability to communicate with fauna he probably wouldn't enjoy the Paper Lantern's sweet and sour chicken so much. Lucky for him, he had no problems eating meat. He got to indulge in carnivorous pleasures whenever he got hungry.
"What time is it, anyway?" Layla shoveled the rest of the ice cream into her mouth, looking all around the room for a clock. Warren rolled up his shirt sleeve a little bit, examining the face of his watch.
"Wow, time flies… It's ten." Layla sighed in disappointment.
"I've got to get up early tomorrow." She frowned. "I'm going to have to be heading out."
Warren nodded, probably just as disappointed if not more than she was. He grabbed her empty bowl, stacking his on top of it and taking them to the kitchen sink.
"Thank you for the ice cream and the company." Layla smiled warmly at Warren.
"No problem. Sure beats a night on the town watching Stronghold's ego grow to the size of a small African country." She laughed, nodding in agreement with his statement.
"You want me to walk you home…?" Layla stopped herself before she insisted that she'd be alright on her own.
"Yeah, that would be nice." A tiny, timid smile formed on her face. Warren nodded, leading Layla to his bedroom. At first she was confused, but all of that cleared up quickly as she realized that they were taking the fire escape down to the sidewalk. It was easier than unlocking all of the bolts on the front entrance to the Paper Lantern.
Layla's home was only a couple blocks away. Maxville was small for a bustling metropolis, allowing walking to be the most common form of transportation. The duo held hands casually, not really thinking anything of it, and made their way along the well-kept sidewalk that lead to Layla's house.
They were both fairly quiet, every once in awhile looking up at each other, and soon Warren found himself on Layla's doorstep, looking into those big brown eyes of hers. It seemed only natural to lean in closer and once he was closer one thing led to another. Before he knew it, Warren became aware that his lips were gently pressed against hers in a fairly innocent kiss. He pulled back quickly, unsure if Layla was alright with being kissed or not, but she pulled him back and deepened their kiss.
"Night." She spoke in a soft sort of bedroom voice, disappearing into her quaint little home.
I'm going to take my time
I have all the time in the world
to make you mine
it is written in the stars above