"You are one sneaky child. You know that?"

Suzy grinned as she set the table. "I get it from my sister."

Mary sighed and returned to her cooking. She'd decided on spaghetti and meatballs with homemade garlic bread. She hoped Warren liked Italian. Someone knocked on the front door.

"I'll get it!" Randy called. A moment later, she heard a cheery "Warren!"

"Hey, Randy," Warren's voice said, traveling into the kitchen.

"You smell like Chinese."

"That's where I work."

"Cool. Hey, could you show me some fire stuff after dinner? Please?"

"Randy, why don't you let Warren come inside before you start asking things," Mary called as she poured the spaghetti into a colander. She gave Warren a smile as he came around the corner. His hair was pulled back into a small ponytail, baring his face. He looked like a completely different person. "Hey, Warren. What can I get you to drink?"

"Anything's good."

"Warren!" Suzy jumped up and wrapped her arms around his waist. She grinned up at his stunned expression. "You came!"

He cleared his throat awkwardly and patted her head. Mary turned away to hide her grin. She quickly finished the food and brought the plates to the table. Suzy and Randy climbed into their seats as Warren took his own. Mary set a glass of milk in front of him and took her own seat. It was just like the last time he'd been here. Suzy and Randy dominated most of the meal with questions about Warren's powers, his school, and what it had been like to get the fire tattoos on his wrists. Mary let them go for a bit, but jumped in when the twins took a breath.

"So how was work?"

Warren looked up, searching her eyes for something. Did he not get asked that question a lot? He twirled his fork in the pasta. "It was slow. Not many people come out for Chinese on a Wednesday."

"Not unless you really love Chinese."

"Or you're waiting for someone," Warren mumbled.

"Oh?"

He looked at his plate for a moment as if contemplating something. He met Mary's gaze and leaned a little on the table as he set his fork down. "Hippie was apparently waiting for Stronghold to show up but he never did. So she ranted at me for a while. Does she really think she's not obvious?"

Mary laughed. "She thinks she is. Everyone knows she's into Will, though. Everyone except him, I mean. He's a bit slow."

"Tell me about it. I wonder how he survived this long."

"Probably because of Layla and I have been there to get him out of trouble."

Warren smirked. "I'm gonna love seeing him try to get out of this mess."

Mary laughed. Though she felt bad for Layla and she knew it made her a horrible friend to think so, she was looking forward to the entertainment yet to come. Oh, that did sound horrible.

"They'll be fine," Suzy said. Mary hid her jump. She'd forgotten the twins were still there. "They're meant to be together."

"That's stupid romance talk," Randy said.

"Says the boy who likes fairy tales."

"They had real life lessons to them."

"Uh-huh. And what lesson does Cinderella have? Loosing your shoes will find you a husband?"

"Enough," Mary said, getting their attention. "Randy, there's nothing wrong with liking fairy tales. Suzy, don't tease your brother about his reading preferences." Both twins bowed their heads to sulk a bit. "Now, Suzy, there was something you prepared for desert, right? Why don't you and Randy go get it?"

The twins left, leaving Mary and Warren at the table. "I'll give you this," Warren said, smiling slightly. "Your house is never quiet."

"What about your house? No siblings?"

"Only child. Mom works long hours sometimes. It's usually just me."

Mary sipped her milk. She knew what that was like. "Well," she said, putting her glass down, "if you ever get tired of silence, this place is rarely quiet." As if to prove her point, a metal crash came from the kitchen. "Everything ok in there, guys?"

"Yup! We're fine," Suzy called.

"Nothing's broken," Randy added.

Warren's brow furrowed as he looked at Mary but she shrugged. "You sure? If I come in there-"

Suzy popped her head around the corner. "It's fine. Stay there." She dashed back into the kitchen.

Mary blinked and turned to Warren. "You can see into the kitchen. What are they doing?"

"They've got the whipped cream out."

"Oh, no." He looked her way. "It's never good when they pull out the whipped cream."

"Why?"

Mary winced at the sound of a can spraying something. She took a breath and called out, "Suzy?"

"Everything's ok!" Randy said. "Just…wait a minute."

Warren ran his hand over his mouth, probably to hide a smile, as he turned his attention to Mary. She sighed and leaned back in her chair. "Is anything destroyed?"

"I don't think so."

"We would never destroy anything," Suzy said, walking in with a covered plate.

Randy followed and smiled. "Relax. Everything's fine."

"That's what worries me."

The twins ignored their big sister and put the plate on the table. Suzy took the top off and Mary smiled at the lava cake with whipped cream splattered around the base and on top.

"Ta-da!" the twins chorused.

"It looks wonderful," Mary said. "You did a great job."

Suzy cut a slice and put it on Warren's plate and then one on Mary's. The teens shared a quick look before taking a bite. Mary smiled as the chocolate melted in her mouth, her taste buds going crazy at the subtle flavors. Warren's eyes widened and he stared at the little girl.

"It's great."

Suzy jumped up and down, clapping her hands in excitement. Mary had to agree. This was one of Suzy's best efforts. She noticed the twins were clearing away the rest of the dishes.

"Aren't you having any?"

They shook their heads. "I made it for you two. Enjoy." They darted back into the kitchen.

Mary chuckled and shook her head. Always meddling. She looked up and smiled as Warren went back for a second helping. He gave her a challenging glare, but she only shook her head.

"Help yourself. Seconds mean you like it." He nodded and sat back with the slice of cake. Mary watched him scarf it down. "Sweet tooth?"

He paused and wiped his mouth with the napkin. "Worse than my dad's, so my mom tells me."

Mary laughed. "I remember he used to steal from my jelly bean stash. He gave me five bucks each time so I wouldn't tell my mom."

Warren stared at her as she took another bite. "How well do you remember my dad?"

"It's only snippets. I was really young and he went away before I could properly remember him." She tilted her head slightly. "I do remember that Mom retired around the time he left."

"She came out of retirement, though." Warren leaned forward. "Why?"

Mary looked down at her plate. "She said she had to fix something. Set something right. I don't know what it was, but I do remember the cops taking her away." She purposefully put her fork down and flexed her fingers. She'd never forgive the Dreamer for taking her mother away from her family. Mary took a deep breath and slowly let it out before looking up. "Let's not talk about parents in prison. I'd hate to lose my temper in front of the twins."

Warren nodded and looked at his crossed arms on the table. Silence rested between them for a bit. Mary finished her desert and pushed the plate away.

"I don't…open up a lot," Warren said hesitantly. He met her gaze across the table. "It's easier to keep up the reputation of broody pyro and son of a villain. People leave me alone and I know what's expected. I'm used to pushing people out…I don't know why I don't do the same with you."

Mary shifted in her chair, her lips curling. "Oh, you've tried. My mom said your dad was the same way in high school. Maybe you take after him in that respect. But maybe you open up because I'm a villain's kid, too, and I get where you're coming from. I don't like people looking at me and seeing me as only Nightmare's kid. Will has it a bit easier than us. His parents are the greatest superheroes in the business and people expect him to be like them. But we're from the other spectrum and people will never stop thinking we'll go that way, too." She lifted her shoulder a bit. "It helps to have someone who understands."

Warren watched her for a bit. Will and Layla were good friends and she could talk to them about some things like this, but they didn't really get it. Not like Warren could and probably did. Mary smiled slightly to herself. There was a possibility they could be good friends and companions because of this.

"Are you going to homecoming?"

The question was random and it took her a minute to answer. "I hadn't thought about it. Why?"

Warren shrugged. "I could take you or we could…hang out? Maybe…talk or something?"

She watched him try not to fidget. It was probably hard for him to ask her to do something close to what friends did, but at least he was trying. "If you don't mind, I'd like to go."

He nodded and ran a hand over his pulled back hair. "Sure." He darted his eyes away for a moment but brought them back to her. "As friends?"

Mary nodded. "I'd love to be friends."

"You could be more than that."

The teens looked over the twins leaning in the doorway. "Have you been listening the whole time?" Mary asked.

"Only the part where he asked you to the dance," Suzy said. She looked at Warren. "Seriously. Date her."

"Suzy," Mary warned. "You have to stop bothering Warren about this. It makes things awkward."

"Not if he dated you."

"And now it's time for bed. I want you two changed, teeth brushed, and ready to be tucked in by the time I get upstairs." The twins grumbled but left after wishing Warren a good night.

Warren stood and headed toward the door. Mary followed. He turned to her. "Thanks for dinner…and the talk. Maybe we could…"

"Do it again? Any time you need."

He nodded. "Don't think I won't be nice to you in school, though."

A smiled curved her lips. "Wouldn't dream of it. You've got a reputation to protect."

For a moment, he copied her smile but it dropped back into a neutral scowl and he nodded once before leaving. Mary closed the door and smiled. A new friend. So today wasn't half bad.

Mary waved to the twins and their friends as the bus pulled away. Layla came to a stop next to her and waited until her friend turned to her.

"Will was supposed to meet me at the Paper Lantern and didn't show, which lead me to a chat with Warren Peace who apparently works there."

"So what are you going to do?"

Layla took a breath and straightened her shoulders. "I'm going to ask him to homecoming."

"Well, here's your chance."

The girls turned to watch Will happily jogging up to them. "You will not believe what happened to me last night." Layla held out a fortune cookie, which Will took and ate. He pulled out the piece of paper and read, "Your loyalties are clear when it comes to friends." It took him a moment to figure it out. "Oh. Layla, I am so sorry. I totally forgot-"

"It's ok. But there's something I want to tell you."

"Oh, me, too."

"Then you go first."

Will grinned. "I'm going to the dance with the greatest girl at school; Gwen Greyson!"

Mary stared. He wasn't that stupid. He couldn't be. But as she continued to stare at Will's smiling face, she realized that he was serious. Oh, this was bad. Thankfully, the bus showed up. Will climbed up the steps, leaving Mary and Layla to follow with a shared stunned look.

Once they were in the air, Will asked Layla what her news was.

"Oh, I'm going to homecoming, too." Mary, who had taken a seat behind the flower child, leaned closer to hear.

"You are? Who with?" Will asked.

"Who with?"

"Yeah. Who asked you?"

"Oh, who asked me!" Layla chuckled a little. Mary hoped Layla knew what she was doing. Who could she say that would play along with her lie? "Warren Peace." Mary was so shocked she hardly noticed that they had arrived at school. The bus emptied and she hurried after her friends.

"Warren Peace?" Will followed Layla toward her classes. Mary would have followed, but she spotted the topic of the two's conversation. She changed directions and stopped beside his locker.

He glanced her way and leaned his shoulder against the metal, raising his eyebrows.

"Are you going with Layla to homecoming?" Mary asked right out.

Warren blinked. "What? No."

"She just told Will that you asked her to homecoming."

"Well, I didn't." Warren slipped a book into his bag. "Hippie must be hallucinating."

Mary's brow furrowed. Why would Layla tell Will she was going with Warren? Unless she liked Warren? No, she was hopelessly in love with Will. Maybe it was to make Will jealous. That would definitely do the trick. But that didn't sound like Layla. Of course, Will did put her on the spot. The bell rang, breaking Mary out of her thoughts. She had to get to class.

"I'll see you around, Warren," she said and started to turn.

Warren gently grabbed her elbow. She turned back and saw a little color in his cheeks, though not enough to catch the attention of the other people in the hallway. "Suzy wouldn't have slipped anything into your bag, would she? That seems to be the pattern."

Mary opened her bag and shook her head. "That girl is going to give you diabetes if she keeps this up." She pulled out a bag of caramel snicker doodles. Warren's name was written in pink crayon on a piece of white construction paper that was tied to the bag with a piece of string. Mary placed it in Warren's hand. "If you want her to stop, I'll let her know."

"Nah," Warren said, slipping the sweets into his bag. "I don't mind. My mom likes them, too."

"Of course," Mary said, trying to hide her smile. "And it has nothing to do with the fact that you're becoming addicted to Suzy's cooking."

He shrugged, shoving the cookies into his bag before anyone else could see them. "Like I said. Sweet tooth." He turned and headed off toward his own classes, giving her a farewell nod before he turned the corner.

Mary hurried off to her class, sliding into her seat as the late bell rang.

Mad Science was just an extension on rays. They'd moved on from freeze rays and onto heat rays. Mary found she was getting used to being ignored. If she focused on taking notes, she was fine. This was the routine she'd managed to keep for the past few days. It didn't help today, though. Not for Hero History. They were talking about Hero and Villain legacies and it wasn't going to be pretty.

"Nightmare is one of the most notorious Villains, rivaling even Barron Battle. What makes her even more interesting to study is that she comes from a long line of Supers. Heroes, Villains, and even Sidekicks have come from every generation. Mary," the class turned around to face her as the teacher pointed her out, "why don't you tell us about your Super side of the family?"

Her fingers tightened on her pencil at the sudden attention, but she kept her face neutral. "I'd prefer not to, ma'am."

"Surly your mother spoke of them. Told family stories and the like? Explained where your powers came from?"

Mary shifted in her seat. Why did the teacher have to force the focus onto her? "I have been advised to make no comment on this subject." She met the teacher's gaze with a meaningful one of her own. "My apologies that I cannot contribute to this discussion."

The teacher frowned, but quickly put on a smile and moved the discussion along. Mary returned her attention to her notes, pretending she didn't see the curious looks from the other students. Her mother didn't talk about her side of the family often. She became estranged from her parents when she married. They hadn't approved of her marrying a Normal. They'd died before Mary was born, never getting the chance to reconcile. All Mary knew was what the teacher had said and that she had inherited her Grandmother's force field abilities and her Great Grandpa's ability to feel no pain. She supposed that Suzy and Randy had gotten their powers from other ancestors. She should ask Mom next prison visit.

Things went back to normal until lunch. Mary searched for her friends and was surprised to see Layla and the others sitting with Warren. She hesitated a moment, wondering if it was ok to sit at Warren's table, but found herself moving across the cafeteria when she'd seen the look in Warren's eyes asking her to step in. Mary put on a bright smile and stopped by the table. "May I join you?" she asked.

"Oh, Mary, perfect." Layla pulled her down to sit on her left. "I was just telling Warren what I told Will this morning," Layla said.

"About how Warren didn't asked you to the homecoming dance, but you said he did to get back at Will because he's going with Gwen Greyson and you don't like that?"

Layla frowned slightly and stabbed her salad with a plastic fork. "Well it sounds bad when you put it that way. But, yes."

Mary turned to Warren. "What do you think about this?" He opened his mouth to answer, but both of them looked back at Layla as she laughed and slapped her hand on the table.

"Warren, you are craazzyy!"

Mary stared, momentarily wondering if Layla had lost her mind, but figured it out when she saw passing by with the popular kids. He looked at their table but kept walking. When he was far enough away, Layla turned to Warren.

"Please. I promise to make this as painless as possible."

"So, you're not doing this because you like me or anything," Warren said. "You're doing this to get at Stronghold."

"Yeah," Layla said, looking guilty again.

A grin lit up Warren's face. "And I'm in." Mary stared, as did everyone else at the table. What she wouldn't give to get that smile on film. "But I'm not renting a tux," he added before grabbing his things and standing. He met Mary's gaze for a quick moment before leaving.

Ethan scooted over into Warren's seat. "Hey, if Warren's not here, is this still the tough guy table?"

Mary shook her head and pulled out her sandwich.

Warren was already sitting in his seat when Mary arrived for French class. She slid into the seat next to him, dropping into French as they had come to do when they talked. The teacher couldn't fault them; they were doing exactly what the class was teaching, after all.

"You're going along with Layla's plan?"

He raised an eyebrow at her. "You think I shouldn't."

"It's your choice. I have no say." She turned to him. "You're doing this to get back at Will, aren't you?"

"Why else would I agree? It's not like I care about Hippie." He leaned back in his chair, lowering his voice as more students wandered in. "I'm sorry that I can't take you. I had given my word."

"But getting back at Will is too tempting. I get it," she added before Warren could jump in. "Really. I do. I'll just see you at the dance, then."

Warren turned to watch the teacher put up the day's lesson. After a few moments, Warren leaned over his notebook, looking as if he were taking notes. "Mary, don't tell your sister that I'm going with Layla."

Mary turned her head. "Are you afraid of my sister?" Her lips quirked up as he shifted in his seat.

"I don't want her to come after me…or stop making sweets."

Mary clamped a hand over her mouth. She tried- she really did- to keep the laughter down, but she found herself clutching her side. Warren Peace was scared that her little sister would stop giving him cookies. He was frowning at her but that only made her laugh harder.

"Miss Lamb!" Mary looked up at the teacher, who was frowning while the rest of the class stared in confusion. "What is so funny that you would disrupt my lesson?"

Mary took slow deep breaths, pushing down the urge to giggle, though a few did escape. She cleared her throat, laughed again, then said, "Comment s'appelle un chien qui vend des médicaments?" She swallowed back her giggle and answered, "Un pharmacien."

The class stared at her as if she'd lost her mind. Well, it wasn't like she could tell them the real reason she was laughing like an idiot. Thankfully, the teacher found the joke hilarious and started to giggle. It turned into laughter and it took another three minutes for him to calm down. By that time, the class was confused and Warren was shaking his head. Probably wondering about his choice of befriending Mary.

When Monsieur Gérard finally clamed down, he came back with one of his own jokes.

"La maîtresse demande à Toto:
– Peux- tu nous citer les quatres éléments?
– Euh…Oui. Le feu.
– Oui.
– La terre.
– Oui.
– Le vent?
– Oui, enfin, l'air.
– Et euh …
– Celui qui te sert à te laver …
– Ah oui le savon!"

Mary really couldn't help the laughter anymore. Out of everything that could have happened today, telling jokes in French class was not on her list of possibilities. Warren ran a hand over his face, as if aggravated, but she could see the smile he was trying to hide. The rest of the class time was spent telling jokes in French and watching half the students understand what was going on.

The bell rang and people collected their books. Warren shook his head as Mary calmed herself after the last joke.
"Oh, man," Mary said, breathing normally and collecting her books. "I haven't laughed so hard in ages."

Warren smiled slightly before pushing it away. "Let's go to gym."

She followed him out of the room and down the hallway. "You should smile more," she said. He raised an eyebrow. "You have a really great smile."

"I prefer-"

"The brooding? I figured."

Warren shrugged. "It keeps people away."

Mary snorted. "I think it's broken, then." He looked at her. "You've been using it since the beginning of the school year and I've become your friend and Layla's using you as a fake date to homecoming." She smiled apologetically. "I think it's broken."

He sighed and pushed the gym doors open.

AN:

I reposted this chapter because, as it was brought to my attention, the ending was a bit too forced and heavy. I'm writing these chapters as I go and sometimes I have to look back and recognize places that need to be changed.

I took a few years of French and the joke Mary tells never gets old.

Translated, it says "What do you call a dog who sells drugs?" and the answer is "A pharmacist." It's a play on words because 'chien' is the French word for dog and the ending of 'pharmacien' sounds like the word for dog. It losses a bit in translation but could be considered a French Dad joke.

The second joke is this:

"The teacher asks Toto:
– Could you name the four elements [for] us?
– Eh … yes. Fire.
– Yes.
– Earth.
– Yes.
– Wind?
– Yes, well, Air.
– And eh …
– That which you use to wash yourself with …
– Oh, yes, soap!"

And now you know something you may or may not have known before.