Even with her friends around to make her smile from time to time, Mary was finding school to be a bit stressful. She knew Lash and Speed wouldn't give up so easily on her, but they hadn't done anything beyond watching and saying a few comments here or there. People still avoided her like the plague and whispered about her in the hallways, though it had toned down since the beginning of the school year. But just walking down the hallway had subjected her to taunts, a few harsh names, and a threat or two. The only people that treated her normally were Will, Layla, Ethan, Magenta, and Zach. Even Warren was at least civil to her. They didn't care who her mother was. The only good things about her days were lunch with friends, French with Warren, and time with her siblings after school.
Mary walked into the lunchroom and instantly spotted Will walking out of the lunch line. He had a lot of food on his plate and she smiled when she saw that he'd grabbed her a plate of spaghetti and buttered garlic bread. Italian was her second favorite food, next to Chinese. He saw her and nodded his head at a table where the rest of the gang was sitting.
She made her way down the aisle, waving a hand to the table, when she felt something grab her ankle. She saw something grab Will's ankle, as well, before she tripped, crashing into him and sending the food on his tray soaring. She pushed herself into a sitting position. Will was already on his feet, apologizing to a really pissed off Warren.
"You think you can do whatever you want because your name's Stronghold?"
"I'm sorry my dad put your dad in prison but-"
"Nobody talks about my dad," Warren said. He brought his hands down sharply, causing his powers to flare up.
Mary's eyes widened as everyone moved out of harm's way. An angry pyro was a dangerous pyro. Will backed away, but Warren pulled his arms back and threw a fireball. Will managed to grab a lunch tray, but the fireball destroyed it.
Mary stood up and shoved Warren to the side before he could launch the fireball in his hand. They toppled over, landing on a lunch table. "Warren, you need to calm down," Mary said, but Warren shoved her off him, getting to his feet again. He threw more fireballs as Will ran to the fire alarm. Something tripped Will, but he managed to crawl under a few lunch tables. Warren jumped on top of the tables and walked along them, tossing fireballs close to the edges. Mary tried to follow, but found she had to push people out of the way to get close enough.
"Where's your sidekick now, sidekick?" Warren yelled on top of the lunch table.
"Right here," Ethan yelled, pushing to the front of the crowd with Zach, Layla, and Magenta.
Warren turned to them and fired up. Ethan melted.
Frowning, Mary yanked her leather jacket off and tossed it to the side. This fight was getting old very fast. She extended her hands and put a force field around Warren to keep his powers contained. He looked at the shimmering bubble around him and turned to glare at her. There was so much anger in that one gaze. There was no way he'd calm down any time soon. In the mean time, someone could get seriously hurt.
"Leave them alone," Will said, pushing on the table above him. Suddenly, Warren and the table were being lifted into the air. It surprised Warren and Mary enough that they both lost focus on their powers.
"He's strong," Layla said, sounding relieved.
"I'm strong," Will said, sounding shocked. He looked at the table then tossed it.
Warren went soaring and hit a high beam before crashing down to destroy another table. Mary was stunned for a moment as the lunchroom cheered. How could they think Warren slamming into a table was a good thing? She hurried over and helped him into a sitting position. He was shaking his head and groaned.
"Is anything seriously injured?" she asked as she knelt beside him and pushed his hair out of his eyes. Warren blinked a few times before his dark eyes settled on hers. They started to focus again and he growled. He brushed her hand away and climbed to his feet, gaze latching onto Will.
"Stronghold!"
Will turned to see him on his feet and hesitantly put up his fists. Warren charged, his anger making him slightly blinded, and Will got a lucky shot in, sending Warren crashing into a wall. Mary managed to throw a force field up in time to catch him before he could go through a second wall, but chastised herself for not reacting sooner. He got to his feet and glared at Will, his powers coming back stronger than before. Her pulse jumped and she leaned away from the heat. Randy had powered up a few times since his first time, but when he'd been excited or upset. Warren was downright pissed. Her brother had nothing on a furious Warren.
The students pressed against the walls, leaving Will alone on the floor. Warren charged like a bull seeing red. The flames made Mary's skin grow hot, even from where she stood beside the ruined lunch tables. She raised a barrier between the two boys, but Warren jumped over it before it could form itself above his waist. Mary watched as he drew his arm back and he managed to throw one fireball before a white spray hit him. He fell back on the ground, sliding to stop at the feet of Principle Powers.
Mary scrambled to her feet, grabbed her jacket, and pulled it on, taking a little comfort in the black leather. They were in so much trouble, if Powers' expression was anything to go on. Mary looked at Will and saw a fire extinguisher in his hands, the top ripped off. So that was what the spray had been.
"You three, follow me," Principal Powers said.
They paused a moment before grabbing their things and following her out of the cafeteria. Mary kept her head down and gripped her satchel tightly. No one talked as they made their way down a few hallways and to a door that slid back. Powers stood by the open doorway and the students walked into a bright white room with desks spaced in a circle.
"I didn't do anything," Will said. "He started it."
"Your dad started it. And I'm gonna finish it," Warren said, snapping his arm down. Mary stiffened, ready for the flames, but none came. Warren tried again, but nothing happened.
"Don't bother," Principal Powers said. "The detention room neutralizes all super powers. Sit."
They took a seat at the desks as Powers stood in the center of the room. "Here at Sky High, we do everything we can to teach you to use your super powers. But what you do with them is up to you. Living up to your parents' reputation or trying to live it down, is a sad waste of talent. Your talent. Try to keep that in mind the next time you try to do something stupid." She gave a slight nod before walking out.
"Look, whatever happened with our dads has nothing to do with us," Will said. "What do you say?" He extended his hand to Warren, who looked at it with disgust before looking up at the owner.
"I say if you ever cross me again, I'll roast you alive," Warren said and looked away.
Will paused before retracting his hand. He turned to Mary on his left. "Sorry for getting you into this mess."
She blinked and met his apologetic gaze. Sighing, she gave him a small smile. "It's fine." She just hoped that someone would pick Suzy and Randy up at the bus stop if she had to stay after school. She didn't want them alone in the house for too long. No doubt they would ruin their dinner with snacks.
Will nodded. "I'm sorry anyway."
"Stop apologizing. Look, if you really want to make it up to me, you can buy me a new top."
"Looks fine to me," Will said, looking at her shirt. Mary turned in her seat to face him and slipped the left side of her jacket off her body. Will's eyes widened as he looked at a large burnt hole on her side exposing blackened flesh. "Oh my god! Mary, why didn't you say anything?" he said, moving out of his seat.
"I can't feel pain, Will. Remember?" Will reached for the burn, but she pulled away, slipping her jacket all the way off and hanging it on the back of the desk's chair.
"Mary, you really need to see Nurse Spex. That needs to be taken care of."
She pulled out a first aid kit out of her bag and turned to sit on the desk's surface. "Are you going to gawk or are you going to help me treat this. I may not be able to feel it, but it can still get infected."
"I'm not good at-"
"It doesn't have to be perfect." She lifted her shirt up enough to show the wound. "Just wipe it with a disinfectant pad and put a bandage over it. I'll have my sister heal me when I get home. She needs the practice."
Will looked up from the contents of the box. "Suzy has her powers? She's only six."
"Yes, she is," she said, lifting her shirt up slightly. "She got them shortly after we moved to France. Would you mind patching this up?"
Will nodded and started to clean the wound. "Are you sure you can't feel this?" he asked, spreading some ointment. "This looks pretty bad."
"I've had worse," she said. "Randy's just coming into his own powers and is turning into quite the flame thrower. Set the curtains on fire yesterday."
"Looks like everyone's going to be a Hero in your family." Will smoothed the large bandage into place. "You're good."
She looked down at her side and smoothed her shirt down. The bandage looked strange showing through the hole in the fabric. "Not bad, Stronghold," she said, smiling at Will.
"Are you sure you're-"
"I'm fine, Will." He gave her a pointed look. "Look, you have bigger things to worry about. Your mom won't be too happy to hear you got into a fight."
"I think they'll be happy I got my superpowers."
"You destroyed half the cafeteria."
"It wasn't my fault. Warren-"
"Had a part, yes, but some of it's your fault, as well," Mary said firmly. "It takes two to tango."
Will stared at her in wonder. "How can you take his side?" he asked, waving his hand toward Warren, who had been watching them from the start. "He burned you!"
"I know," she said calmly. "But don't you think it was a bit much to punch him through a wall?"
Will stared at her, his mouth open in shock at her defending his archenemy. It seemed that she'd made him speechless. She reached out and closed his mouth. "You look like a fish. Now sit down and do something productive. You have homework due tomorrow, right?"
He blinked before nodding. He sat down at the desk he was leaning on, pulling out his books. Mary silently sighed and looked at his textbooks. Will hadn't been too good on homework in middle school. After a while, though, she decided to get a few of her own assignments out of the way. It was a good way to kill time until Powers came back to dismiss them to the buses. She also didn't want to talk to Warren until she was sure he'd worked through his residual anger.
She didn't know how much time passed, but soon the door to the detention room opened. Mary looked up. No one was at the door and it didn't close. She slowly stood up and took a step forward. She approached slowly, her body tense and ready.
"Mary!" was the only warning she got before Randy and Suzy barreled into her. She stumbled, but managed to right herself. Suzy jumped up, forcing Mary to catch her or let her fall. "We came to get you," Suzy said, looking proud of herself.
"Mary got in trouble," Randy said in a sing-song voice, smiling as he gripped her shirt hem.
Suzy looked over Mary's shoulder and waved enthusiastically. "Hi, Will."
"Hey, Suzy," he said, waving to her. "I heard you got your powers. Congrats."
"Yup," she said proudly. "I can heal. I'm gonna be a Hero like Mary."
Mary shook her head. "How did you get here?"
"Mrs. Josie got us from school and brought us. She said that she had to get Will, so she thought to get us, too."
"That's nice of her," Mary said. "Well, come on, guys. Let's go home. What do you want for dinner?"
"Pizza!" Randy said.
"Mac 'n Cheese!" Suzy said.
Mary laughed. "Glad you guys can agree on something."
"Hi, Warren," Randy said. Mary turned to see her little brother leaning on Warren's desk, a look of excitement plastered all over his face. "Thanks for yesterday. It really helped. I set the curtains over the sink on fire, though, but Mary took care of it. She wasn't happy at my practicing in the house." He paused for a moment before starting again. "Hey, your dad's in prison, right? My mom's there, too. Maybe they could be friends. Would you be my friend? It'd be so cool to have an older friend."
"Randy," Mary said, walking over and taking her brother's hand. She looked at Warren. "Sorry. Come on, Randy."
She turned them around and headed to the door. Suzy squirmed out of her sister's arm and ran over to Warren, who hadn't moved from his seat. "Warren, do you want to be her boyfriend?"
"Suzy," Mary hissed, blushing a bit. Will was watching the interaction with a combination of amusement and confusion. "Don't bother Warren."
"I'm not bothering him. I'm asking a question." Suzy looked back at the boy, her face serious. "So?"
Warren stared at the little girl for a while, his face blank of any emotion. Mary turned to Will. "Could you take Randy and Suzy? I'll meet you out front after grabbing a few things from my locker."
Will gave her a raised look, but she narrowed her eyes. He collected Suzy and Randy and left the detention room, shooting one last look over his shoulder at her. Mary sighed and turned to Warren. "I am so sorry about them."
"Does she always try to set you up with guys?"
"You're actually the first," Mary said, collecting her things and putting them in her bag.
"I feel honored," Warren said.
Mary laughed, closing her satchel. "Considering that she doesn't talk to a lot of people my age, yeah." She slid the strap of her bag over her head and turned. Warren stood directly behind her, the close proximity startling her. She bumped against the desk and sank onto the surface. He stared down at her. The intensity and depth of his gaze kept her rooted on top of the desk.
"Why did you step in?" he asked. "The fight was between Stronghold and me. You didn't have to, but you did."
Mary was quiet for a moment, getting use to him being so close. "I...didn't want anyone to get hurt. No one was stepping in to stop it, so..." She shrugged.
He stared for a bit longer. "You would make a great hero."
Mary's mouth fell open in surprise. She knew that who her mother was didn't depict what her future would be, but, besides her siblings and friends, Warren was the first to tell her that she actually could be a hero. She didn't have a huge dream to be the next big superhero or anything, but it was nice to know someone believed enough in her to sincerely tell her she could be one. "Thanks."
"How's your side?"
She raised her shirt slightly. "As good as new. Suzy does good work. No scars or anything." Mary watched Warren look over her side and she dropped the fabric as the attention started to make her blush. She pushed a strand of hair behind her ear. "What's on your mind, Warren?"
"You know," he said. "There aren't a lot of people I allow to call me Warren."
"Why is that?" He was silent for a moment. "Is it because if they say Peace enough times, they'll see something besides Barron Battle's son?"
Warren snapped his head up, his eyes flashing. Mary kept his gaze. "It's a shame," he said, stepping back, "that you're such good friends with Stronghold. But I'll try not to hate you. Even if you bug me with favors."
Mary chuckled as she slid off the desk. "Thanks for the effort." Warren smirked for a moment and they left the detention room. The hallways were deserted, everyone having already gone home. "How are you getting home?" Mary asked. "All the busses have left."
"Not all," Warren said. "They always keep one at the school for late detentions."
"Is your mom going to get angry that you had detention?"
Warren shrugged. "I guess. I've had a few before, so it's not something new to her." They were quiet, their shoes making the only sound for a while. "What about your dad?"
Mary smiled for a second at the fact Warren was trying to make small talk, but it faded when she thought about her answer. "I doubt he'll really care. He's been working a lot of late hours. We haven't seen him in a week, though I'm sure he comes home to crash when we're at school."
"Sounds rough," Warren said, stopping at Mary's locker so she could grab her books.
She shrugged. "Sometimes. But I have my hands full with Suzy and Randy. I'm sure the moment we go visit Mom again, they're going to be jumping everywhere and tattling on me for hours." Warren raised a questioning eyebrow. "I'm the good kid. I never get in trouble," Mary explained as she put her books in her bag and closed her locker. They turned and headed for Warren's locker next.
"Will your mom get upset about the detention?"
"Yeah." She sighed. "She wants me to do well in school and succeed. Be a good role model for the twins. You know, be something that she thinks she isn't." A soft smile played across her lips as she remembered her mother before she'd gone to jail. "What she doesn't get is that she's always our mom, villain or no." The mental image of Trisha Lamb's bright smile faded and Mary realized that she'd stopped walking. Warren was staring at her as he leaned against his locker door, and she blushed. "Sorry. Didn't mean to get all reminiscent."
"No," Warren said, grabbing one of his textbooks. "I get it. It's like that with my dad sometimes. When he finds out that I had detention, he'll be angry and laugh. Angry that I got in trouble, but laugh that I got one in at Stronghold."
Mary shook her head, though she couldn't help but smile. This was the most Warren had opened up to her, probably to anyone, and it was because of his fight with Will. Mary turned her head, looking into his locker. It had a small poster of a band and a few other punk-ish things, but there was a picture posted in the middle that really caught her eye. It was of a man that looked like an older Warren, his arms around a small child and a woman with bright red hair. They were smiling at the child, who was reaching for the man's large glasses. It was a cute family picture. Warren closed his locker door, bringing Mary's attention back to him.
"I remember him, you know," she said. "Your dad. Not well, but I remember he came to my house once or twice. He was nice to me." Warren tilted his head, staring at her. She shifted a bit after his staring continued. "What?"
"I've never heard someone outside my mom and me use those words in the same sentence about him. It's odd."
She laughed. "You haven't figured out that I'm odd?" she asked as they continued down the halls.
"I figured that out when you defended me back in the detention room."
"You did start the fight. But," she added, seeing Warren's eyes flash, "it wasn't fair for Will to put the entire blame on you. I mean, he's stupid sometimes. My job is sort of trying to make him less stupid."
Warren paused then broke out into a full genuine smile and laughter that made Mary stare. Wow. Why didn't he smile more? "If you're trying to make him less stupid, you definitely have your work cut out for you. He still hasn't noticed Hippie's feelings for him."
Mary blinked. "You know about Layla liking Will? Are you spying on our table or something?"
"Hardly. You guys always sit near my table during lunch and you're not exactly quiet." He shook his head, the smile still on his face.
Mary reached into her bag and pulled out her camera that she always carried with her. "Warren, can I take your picture?" He paused, staring at her, then her camera. "I promise not to do something stupid like post it all over the school with a moronic caption."
He was silent, then shrugged. "Whatever, Lamb."
Mary smiled and raised the device to her eye. Looking through the lens, she noticed he wasn't smiling. She missed it, but his brooding face was just as good. She snapped a few pictures then lowered it to look at how they'd turned out.
"Not bad," Warren said, looking over her shoulder as they walked to the front doors.
Mary shrugged. "I'd have liked you to smile, though."
"Maybe another time, Pics," he said, opening the door for her.
She stepped through, looking at him curiously. "Pics?"
"Because you're always taking pictures," Warren said, giving her a look that said 'duh'.
She was about to say something, but Suzy ran over to them. She usually grabbed her sister's hand, but took Warren's instead. He was just as surprised as Mary, but didn't shake the little one off. "Are you leaving, Warren?" Suzy asked.
"Uh, yeah," he said, looking a bit unsure of what to do.
"Can you come over again sometime? You could come for dinner. I could make you some sweets, too."
Mary covered her smile with her hand. It took a lot of effort not to laugh at her sister's meddling. When she got something into that cute head of hers, there was almost nothing that could stop her. Warren looked up at Mary for help and she had to bite her knuckle to keep the laughter at bay. The mighty Warren Peace, brooding pyro of the school, didn't know how to handle a pleading six year old.
"Suzy," Mary said. "Warren has to work a lot and has to do his own homework. There's not a lot of time that he can come over."
"Awww," Suzy said, pouting. "But he's such a good boyfriend for you."
"Suzy," Mrs. Stronghold called from a car parked near by. Will and Randy were already in the car. They were just waiting on the girls.
The little one looked up at Warren. "Tomorrow night," she said. "Dinner at our place. You'll be there." It wasn't a question, but a statement then she ran off to the car, waving to Warren.
Mary shook her head. "I'm really going to have to talk to her. I am so sorry, Warren. She seems to have her attention on you."
He shook his head, as if clearing something from his thoughts. "See you, Pics," he said, raising a hand as he turned away. There wasn't any scorn or negative sound in his voice. Good. He hadn't meant it to sound like a dismissal.
"See you, Warren," she said before turning and walking over to the car.
Josie Stronghold, also known as Jetstream, sat in the car, dressed in a white work suit. Her face was a little stern and Mary was fairly certain Will was going to get a lecture later on tonight. Any other time, though, Mrs. Stronghold was a compassionate woman that treated the Lamb children like her own.
"Hello, Mrs. Stronghold," Mary said, closing the door as she slid into the front seat and buckling up. "It's been a while."
"It has," the woman said, giving her a slight smile. "I'm glad to see you, but what were you thinking, getting into a fight?"
"She was trying to stop the fight, Mom," Will said from the back.
"Then why were you put in detention?" she asked.
"Principal Powers misunderstood the situation," Mary said as the car drove off the side of the school. There was a slight falling before boosters unfolded from the back and they started to fly.
Josie sighed. "Either way, your father's not going to be happy about you getting detention."
Mary ran her thumbs over the camera in her lap. She didn't bother to mention that Dad probably wouldn't care, since he wasn't really home enough to know what was going on. Instead, she said, "Dad pulled the short straw and has to pull another shift at the paper. He'll be home late, but I'll probably hear about it later."
"Late shift," Josie said. It sounded like she was thinking. "Mary, you, Suzy, and Randy are going to join us for dinner. I won't take no for an answer."
"Yay," Suzy cheered from the back.
Mary smiled. "Thank you, Mrs. Stronghold."
"It'll give us a chance to catch up." Josie grinned as they touched down onto real road. "I want to hear all about France, who you met, where you were, and everything in between." She gave a sly look from the corner of her eye. "And I'd love to hear about your relationship with Warren Peace."
Mary blushed at her tone. "There's no relationship," she said, very much aware that everyone in the back seat were now listening. "He helped me out by talking to Randy about his powers. That's all."
"Ah. Ok."
"There really is nothing else," Mary insisted.
"Of course, dear," Josie said, pulling into the driveway. She turned in her seat and looked at Will. "Will, your father will want to talk to you. Suzy, Randy, go on in and start your homework. We'll be in momentarily." Once they left, Josie turned to Mary. "Mary, I know that the bad boy image can be attractive, especially when you're in high school, but there are other boys who-"
"Warren Peace is hot tempered, broody, and far too invested in maintaining that bad boy image. But he was there when Randy first powered up, he helped put the flames out, he told me what to do to get Randy through his transition, and then he came by to ease Randy's concerns. I've only known him for less than a week, but he helped me. I'm grateful for what he's done. But that's it."
Josie stared and Mary didn't look away. Mrs. Stronghold needed to know that she meant what she said. Yes, Warren was attractive and his smile was practically transformative, but good looks weren't everything. She'd spent a full year around hot models and designers without falling for any of them, man or woman. Warren had helped her, she was grateful, and she wouldn't be against the idea of them becoming friends. But Mary wasn't interested in a relationship. She had too many responsibilities to worry about. Josie must have seen this in her eyes.
"You know you can always come to me if you need anything."
Mary nodded. "I know. But we're fine. Really. You don't have to worry about us."
"I'll worry anyway. You're like my own kids." She patted Mary's knee and opened the car door. "Come on. I know for a fact that Steven isn't giving Will the lecture I want him to."
Mary laughed as she climbed out of the car.
Dinner with the Strongholds was nice. Steve was thrilled to hear about everyone's new powers and couldn't get over the fact that Will finally had his. Afterwards, the others retreated to the living room, leaving Josie and Mary to clean up. The twins were thrilled to hear Steve's stories and Mary was glad to chat with Josie. She told her all about being overseas and all the friends she'd made. Mary was in the middle of recounting her school's end of semester fashion show when Will came into the kitchen.
"The twins are finally asleep," he said. "I don't know how you can deal with so much energy. I'm so glad I'm an only child."
"Years of practice, Will. Years of practice." Mary turned to Josie. "Would you mind if we just stayed here for the night? I'd rather not risk them getting their second wind if I move them now."
"Of course," Josie said. "Just let your father know."
Mary nodded and picked up her cell phone. She dialed her dad's number and stepped outside. The line rang for a while until his voicemail answered.
"Hey, Dad. It's Mary. Listen, we had dinner at the Strongholds' and the twins crashed. We're gonna stay here and catch the bus in the morning. Just letting you know. Bye." She hung up and slipped the device into her pocket. He may or may not get the message, but he wouldn't care either way. This was all for show.
Mary tipped her head back and let her eyes fall closed. The cool breeze felt good against her skin. It was already turning colder; she'd have to pull out the winter clothing soon and start having soup on hand to warm up with. She'd have to pull out the afghans and other comfy blankets, too. Heating was expensive and it was just easier to curl up in a blanket on the couch than to turn up the heat. Randy wouldn't have a problem; he was his own heater. Mary chuckled at the thought. He'd probably tease his sisters about being too cold when he could be fine walking around in just shorts and a t-shirt. Pyros had a different temperature than others. Was Warren like that? Must be real handy to have around during the cold season. You wouldn't have to worry about the heating bill; you could just curl up under a blanket and let him heat you right up. In more ways than one, too. Mary snapped her eyes open and shook her head. She shouldn't be thinking about him like that.
Focus, Mary. Relationships aren't wise. You can't give them the attention they deserve. Not when you have to take care of the twins. This is your life, as much as you wish it wasn't.
She loved her siblings- she really did- but she sometimes wished she could be like any other teenager. She couldn't rebel against her parents and be moody. She had to be the responsible one and make sure Suzy and Randy grew up to be normal people. Her only way of rebelling was the blue streaks in her hair, her rocker style, and the tattoos she'd gotten during one of her more wild evenings back in France. That was her rebellion and that was all it could ever reach. Every other part of her had to be a good example. And it was suffocating. What she wouldn't give for just one night where she could be as wild and crazy as she wanted without having to worry about how she looked.
"Mary, is everything all right?" Josie asked, opening the back door. "You've been out here a while."
The teen nodded. "Just thinking about the changing season."
"It is a bit nippy out here." Josie smiled slightly. "Want some tea or hot chocolate? Seems like the night for it."
"Yeah. That sounds pretty good." Mary followed Josie inside and laughed when she saw Suzy standing over a mixing bowl.
The little girl looked up and grinned. "I'm gonna make cookies."
"And you're never going to sleep," Mary mumbled, but settled down at the kitchen table as Josie put the kettle on.
The next day at school, almost every person had to come up to Will and congratulate him on getting his powers. He was a bit shocked at the attention, but didn't mind it after a while. He even seemed to be enjoying himself. Through her morning classes, Mary heard that he'd been moved to the Hero class. That wasn't too surprising, really, but it wasn't like she'd see him too much. He was still a freshman and she was a sophomore.
At lunch, Mary quickly spotted Warren at his usual table, his back hunched as he read a comic book. She reached into her messenger bag and pulled out a brown paper bag, setting it down next to his elbow. He looked up to stare at it before turning his gaze toward her.
"Suzy insisted on baking you some cookies last night. Practically shoved them into my bag. I hope you like Red Velvet with white chocolate chip."
Warren opened the bag and pulled a treat out. He turned it for a moment before taking a bite. He chewed and nodded. "It's good." He looked up. "Tell her thanks."
Mary nodded with a soft smile. She looked up when she noticed her friends calling for her and turned back to Warren. "I'll see you in French, then." He nodded and she hurried to join her friends, missing the moment Warren pulled out a folded note from the bag.
"Where's Will?" Mary asked as she sat down.
"Sitting with his new friends," Layla said.
Mary turned in her seat and saw Will sitting with a few of the popular heroes. He looked slightly uncomfortable sitting there despite enjoying the attention that morning. Mary turned back to Layla and squeezed her shoulder. "I'm sure he's not half as happy over there than here. We're his real friends."
Layla smiled a bit, but it was obvious that she wasn't convinced. Will really needed to open his eyes. Layla might not always be around for him when he figured it out.
After lunch, Mary exchanged a few books at her locker and turned to go to the gym changing rooms. Lash, however, was blocking her path.
"So are you going to cheer for me today in gym?"
"Why would I?" Mary stepped around him, but he just moved back in her way.
"Because you like me but you just won't admit it."
Mary rolled her eyes. "If by like, you mean that I do not want to have anything to do with you, then I absolutely adore you."
"Oh, baby, you're making me blush."
She shook her head and moved around him, pushing the girl's locker room door open.
"I love it when you play hard to get, Mary."
What was his angle? He and Speed had been watching her for a while, not coming near her, but then Lash starts flirting with her? What were they up to?
It was Save the Citizen in gym. Mary cringed as the citizen dummy was torn apart by the rotating blades. The 'Heroes' of the simulation had been thrown into a dumpster, crushing it. She couldn't see how people could cheer for that. She hoped that Will wouldn't be too badly injured in this fight. She'd heard about the bet Zach had made with Speed and Lash. As much faith as she had in Will, he didn't know how to use his powers. There was little hope of him winning this challenge. Poor Ethan was going to be tormented for months.
"Next round," Boomer said from his elevated chair. "Speed, Lash, wanna be Heroes or Villains?"
"Villain," Speed said with a laugh.
"Shocker." Boomer made a note on his clipboard. "Alright. Who do you want to beat next?"
"We'll take little Stronghold," Speed said, pointing to Will.
"And we'll take Peace," Lash finished.
Mary turned to watch Warren stand from his semi-isolated spot on the bleachers. This match was doomed to fail and both Speed and Lash knew it. Could the boys put aside their differences for this? Warren caught her eyes while he put on the padding. She gave him an encouraging smile that he didn't return, but he did nod slightly toward her.
Boomer explained the rules but Will seemed to be a bit more preoccupied with Gwen Greyson waving at him. He needed to focus. There was a lot riding on this outcome. The clock started and Lash instantly turned Speed into a fast human pinball that knocked Will and Warren off their feet. Mary gasped as she watched Warren crush a mailbox, but he got up and tossed it over the wall. Lash immobilized Warren by extending his arms, but the pyro lit his arms up, burning the boy and causing him to let go. Mary cheered. Warren smiled but Lash frowned, calling for a foul. Boomer didn't care. The bully deserved it.
Will was having trouble staying up. Every time he got up, Speed knocked him down. Warren tried to hit him, but the fireball ended up destroying Boomer's clipboard, which earned a laugh from the viewers. Mary hid a little chuckle. Will climbed to his feet and, using a move from his dad, jumped up enough to put the right amount of force behind his punch as he slammed his knuckles into the wood. The floor rippled, throwing Speed and Lash into the air and crashing against the walls. Will tied Lash to a light post, which Mary thoroughly enjoyed.
She looked to Warren as he started launching fireballs at the walls in an attempt to hit Speed. The other boy was just too fast, though. He started running a small circle around Warren, the air leaving quickly and depleting his flames. Mary paled and her heart dropped into her gut. He was suffocating! Will grabbed Speed and released him at Lash, letting him run into the boy before picking Warren up and throwing him at the citizen just as the buzzer sounded.
"Time!" Boomer called. "She's alive! Heroes win!"
The rest of the auditorium cheered and poured onto the floor. They surrounded Will and raised him onto their shoulders, cheering at his victory. Mary hurried down the bleachers and tried to push her way to Warren, but he was already heading to the boy's locker room. She hurried after him, but the door closed and the crowd pulled her away. She found herself near the girl's locker room and she headed in, quickly changing back into her regular clothes. With the crowd out there, gym was unlikely to continue. That didn't matter, though. She had to check on Warren. She pushed the locker door open and waiting for him to leave the boy's locker room.
The moment Warren appeared, Mary straightened. "Are you alright?"
"I'm fine," Warren said, waving her off. He ran his fingers through his hair in frustration as he turned away and walked down the hall.
Mary followed. "You were almost suffocated."
"Thanks for the reminder, but I was there, you know." Warren turned to her. "Why don't you go back to Stronghold and his adoring fans?"
She gritted her teeth and grabbed his arm, pulling him around to face her. "Stow the anger. I'm focused on you, Warren Peace, and I will slap you if you say that you're fine one more time. No one is fine after almost being suffocated and tossed about like a rag doll."
He stared at her for a long while; enough time for her to calm down and realize what she had said. Mary rarely lost her temper. She tried hard to keep her cool around her siblings and friends, but the threat to Warren had instantly made her regress to a yelling piece of worry.
"I-I'm sorry," she said, blushing. "I shouldn't have yelled. I'm just worried about you and-"
"I'll be over tonight for dinner after my shift," Warren said gently, cutting her off. "You can watch me for a while and make sure I'm truly fine."
"Dinner? Really?" Mary blinked in surprise. "Tonight? But-"
"Suzy already told me to come yesterday and she also sent me a note with the cookies telling me to come," he said. "And you're obviously not convinced that I'm fine." He shifted the bag on his shoulder. "See you at seven after my shift." He walked past her, but paused and looked back at her. "You know, it's been a while since someone worried about me. It's nice." He then turned and continued on his way, leaving Mary standing in the hallway. She watched him go, still stunned at the fact that Warren Peace was coming to dinner because her little sister had asked him to with a note and cookies.