Chapter Three: Time Alone

The rest of the week rolled by incredibly slowly for Warren Peace, who, as the days went on, became more and more impatient, waiting for Monday, to be alone with Will Stronghold.

After what seemed like an eternity of waiting, Sunday night came, and Warren found himself pacing around in his room, unsure of what to pack and even more unsure of what to do. All week he had been preparing to tell Will how he really felt, to touch his skin and to feel Will's soft lips pressed to his own. Or to feel Will's fist in his gut. But now, on the evening before, he was unsure. It's hard to be so nonchalant when your heart is on the line.

Warren sat down on his bed and ran his hands across the soft, black satin sheets. He exhaled slowly, stood back up and paced over to the wardrobe. The list of items they would need wasn't very clear, consisting of only; Clothes, Shoes, Knife and Torch.

He opened his wardrobe and looked inside, desperately trying to decide what would be practical, and what would impress Will the most. Contrary to belief, Warren was not poor. He lived in a large house, and had a lot of possessions. But he didn't like to brag. Usually, he wore the same beat up stuff, so people assumed he couldn't afford nicer things.

They were wrong.

His mother, years ago, was a superhero on par with The Commander and Jetstream. She was better than the best when she was on top of her game, and earned a lot of money helping people, and through sports endorsements. But after his father, Barron Battle, tricked her into using her powers for evil, she stopped using her powers all together, and faded out of the public eye. Her cover life became her normal life, until eventually she sank into a pool of depression and booze. She was a good woman, and Warren loved her dearly, but they don't walk in the same world anymore.

He pulled out a white button down shirt and cream cargo pants and folded them neatly, before putting them in his bag. Then, on top of that, he stuffed a few pairs of jeans, underwear and shirts. Into his bag he also tossed a knife and a torch, although Warren was sure he wouldn't need it.

He closed his bag and lay down on the bed. No way was he sleeping tonight. He reached into the cabinet on his bedside table and pulled out a photo album. As he slowly flicked through, looking at photos of him when he was younger, with his mom, and when he was good, his father, he felt a pang of sadness. Warren longed to be close to someone in the way he used to be with his parents. He stopped on the second to last page.

The photo was of Warren, his mother and his father. Warren was nine years old; his hair was cut short. He was wearing a brightly coloured shirt and a big grin. His father was crouched down next to him, with an arm around his shoulder, and his mother was standing behind them. They looked so happy then. So normal. Warren remembered the day clearly. For the past few weeks before, his father had been distant, withdrawn, coming and going at all hours. They were going on a picnic that day, to make up for it. While they were driving, Warren knew, he just knew, that things were gonna be ok. But he was wrong. When they arrived home, the police were waiting. Evidence of a crime committed down town had been linked with Barron Battle. The picnic had been an alibi. Barron Battle fled, but was tracked down by The Commander and Jetstream.

The next time Warren saw his father was seven years later, on his sixteenth birthday. He had visited his father in the insane asylum.

Warren wiped away a tear that was rolling slowly down his cheek. He sniffed loudly, shook the hair out of his face and turned to the last page. One photo was pasted clumsily onto the page. Of Will, with his arm over Warrens shoulder on homecoming night. They had just helped to stop Gwen Grayson AKA Royal Pain, and were both extremely happy. Will's mom had taken the picture, and had insisted on giving Warren a copy, as well as framing one for the wall of the Strongholds living room.

Right after the photo was taken, Will lead Warren outside and pulled him in for a tight hug. Warren remembered it exactly; the way Will squeezed him, almost until it hurt, the way he had smelled, how his hair tickled his face.

"You're my best friend Warren Peace." Will said. Then he promptly pulled away, blushed and went inside.

Warren smiled and closed the album, hugging it tightly to his chest. He closed his eyes and let out a long sigh.

The next morning, Warren was a mess. He ran around the house in a panic, checking and rechecking that he had packed everything, almost missed the bus and was ready to torch someone by the time they had arrived at school

"Hey Warren. You all ready for your trip." Asked Jamie Tasker, bus driver, as Warren began to exit the bus, the last off as usual.

"You bet Mr. Tasker." He said and stepped off the bus.

Jamie blinked and sat silently for a moment. "Did Warren Peace just answer a question?" He thought "Politely?"

Warren exited the bus and tried his best to walk calmly to the where he and will were to meet to be taken to their secret location. He began to walk faster, hoping, for the sake of his hard-earned reputation as a bad boy, that he appeared impatient rather than eager. He turned the corner and saw Will, sitting on a bench with Dr. Medulla, waiting for him

"Thank you for joining us, Mr. Peace." Said Dr. Medulla; the sarcasm he spoke with was almost tangible. "Ok gentlemen, I don't have all day, I have another six pairs to transport, as well as a junior class to teach."

"Well lets rock and roll." Will said enthusiastically, obviously unaware of how lame he sounded.

Dr. Medulla raised and eyebrow. "Right." He said "I need the two of you to stand very close together and put your arms around each other."

"Medulla, I'm sure that's what you need." Said Warren viciously.

"Why did I say that?" He thought, as he saw will roll his eyes "Fucking get it together Peace, you're being a dick."

"Very funny Mr. Peace. No, you see I need you to be close so that I can transport you with this."

He pulled a small sliver object from his pocket that looked like a pen.

"As you know Will, and I'm sure that Mr. Peace must have picked this up on his second time around, my area of expertise is rays. This, is a transport ray. Your secret location is already programmed in, and when I activate this, you will be transported instantly."

Medulla pressed a few buttons on the transport ray and aimed it at the boys. Warren put his arm around Will's shoulders, and inhaled sharply when Will wrapped his arms around Warren's waist. Will put his head in Warrens chest, and Warren found it hard to breath. The boy of his dreams was in his arms. Suddenly a bright blue light caused Warren to close his eyes and grip Will closer. When he opened them, he was standing on a beach, holding will tightly to him.

"Thanks." Will said, as he let go of Warren's waist. Warren let go and let his hand run through Will's hair. He turned away and surveyed the area. In front of him was clear blue ocean for miles, and behind them was a beach and a dense tropical forest.

"All right!" Will yelled and grabbed Warren's hand "we lucked out, a whole beach to ourselves."

"Cool it Stronghold. I have a slight suspicion this isn't going to be like spring break." Warren said, desperately wanting to agree with Will, and have fun. But that wasn't the way Warren Peace worked. "We need to make a shelter."

"Right!" Will exclaimed "and a fire!"

Warren looked at Will dumbstruck. "Damn dude, you may be sexy as hell but you're stupid sometimes. What my power?"

As soon as the words left his mouth, Warren wanted the earth to open up and swallow him whole. His cheeks burned with embarrassment, and he turned away from Will.

"You should get some stuff for a shelter." Warren said, still not facing at Will. Will walked off silently, his mind racing as what Warren had just said. Warren waited until Will was out of sight and slumped to the ground. That was not the way Warren had planned.

Sometime later, Will returned, carrying several large logs for building the supports of the shelter. He carried them all over one shoulder, and super strength or not, he was feeling the weight. He looked ahead at Warren, who was moving their bags away from the waters edge.

"Warren called me sexy." He thought to himself, and blushed. The idea of Warren thinking of him that way was very strange, but in a way, exciting. Will wasn't surprised that Warren was attracted to guys. He had pretty much assumed that Warren had to at least be bisexual, the way he dripped sex appeal. Warren seemed to be the type of guy who would try anything for a good time.

He smiled as Warren looked over at him, to put him at ease. His parents had raised him to be very tolerant of other races and sexualities, and Will knew Warren would be really scared about how he had reacted. Also, Will was scared. He was scared because he felt drawn towards Warren in a way he didn't feel for anyone, not even Layla. When he was kissing Layla, he sometimes thought about Warren, and he knew that that wasn't exactly normal, even if they were best friends. Will dropped the logs and jogged over to Warren.

"Ren" he said, as he placed a hand on Warren's large upper arm "is there something going on with us?"

-End-

-Authors note- Uh, yeah, so next time is could get a little involved, just a warning there. I know Warren might seem a little out of character, but these are mostly his intimate thoughts, and IMHO, I think Warren is really different to the way he projects himself. Also, I have my own Barron Battle theories, that will get expanded upon. Thanks for reading, hope this is good, feedback would be good.