Chapter Seven
Will woke up with a start. He sat up quickly and felt a cold sweat running down his cheek. He turned and looked at Warren. He looked so peaceful when he slept. Like all of the terror and pain he had had in his life was gone. Will loved to watch him sleep. He glanced at the red neon lights of the clock on Warren's bedside table. 3am.
His throat was dry. Will got out of bed, pulled on his boxers and headed to the kitchen. As he turned the corner to walk down the stairway, he stopped, hearing a peculiar sound. Sobbing. Will followed the noise slowly, until he reached the main closet on the first floor. The noise was definitely coming from inside. He turned the knob slowly and opened the door.
Ethan.
Inside the closet, Ethan sat, curled tightly against the wall, his thick black glasses cracked, his shirt torn. He was sobbing and shaking uncontrollably. Will bent down quickly.
"Oh my god Ethan? What happened? Are you ok?" He asked, while reaching out to help the boy. As soon as he touched Ethan's shoulder, he pulled his hand away in shock. It was hot.
"Things aren't always, as they seem." Ethan said, almost inaudibly "You have to look deeper Will. It's up to you."
"What? Ethan you're not making any..." Will began., but stopped when he noticed Ethan's hand, smoking.
"Ethan..." Will said, but before he could say any more, Ethan burst into flames. Will backed away from the heat, and within ten seconds it had stopped. Ethan was dead. Charred beyond recognition.
"Oh my god." Will said. He turned around and vomited onto the creme carpet of Warren's living room.
"You should have expected something like this." Said a familiar voice. Will looked up and saw Layla standing before him.
"Layla?"
"I mean, come one." She continued "What did you think would happen? You're too different, and not in a Buffy and Angel way."
Will stood up, turning away from Layla and walked towards the phone. On his way towards it, he passed Majenta, who was holding a microphone and humming slightly. Will picked up the phone and dialed 9-1-1. Maybe there was still time to help Ethan.
"Wake up." Said the voice on the other end of the line "Stronghold. Stronghold wake up!"
Will sat up suddenly. It had all been a dream.
"Baby are you ok?" Warren said. He put his arm around Will and pulled him close. He began to stroke his hair, while rocking Will slightly and making soothing shh sounds.
"Ethan... he's dead."
"No Will, you had a nightmare, that's all."
"But I saw..." he began, but trailed off "Well, yeah, I guess the Majenta thing was weird."
"Yeah, see, just a dream. Yours safe here with me."
"Promise?" Will asked, while taking one of Warren's hands and squeezing it tightly.
"I promise. I love you Will."
"I love you too Warren. Always."
-
"Wake up baby." Warren said to the sleeping figure of Will "It's time to get ready for school."
"Five more minutes." Will grumbled and pulled the blankets over his head.
"Oh no." Said Warren. He pulled off the blankets, picked Will up and carried him to the bathroom.
"Ok I get the idea." Will said and rolled his eyes. Warren took off his boxers and stepped into the shower.
"Hey!" Will said indignantly "You got me up to sit and wait for you to get out of the shower?"
Warren groaned slightly and shook his head in disbelief "Stronghold, get in here."
Will smiled his cheeky grin as realization dawned on him. He took off his black boxers and stepped into the shower with Warren, immediately pulling him into a tight embrace. He kissed Warren hard on the mouth for a second before traveling down to his neck with his tongue. He licked Warren's neck slowly, causing Warren to moan and throw his head back. Will smiled again, knowing this would be a shower to remember.
-
The next few days of school went pretty uneventfully for Warren Peace. Other than his usual fights and detentions, the week had almost been boring. Friday came, and as the last bell rang, Warren was the first out the door, followed closely behind by Will, Majenta, Zach, Ethan and Layla. As each of them called out to him, Warren began to walk faster. Finally, when he reached the edge of the school, with the gang still following him, he stopped and turned around.
"Now before you say no, just think." Layla said
"No."
"Wait, I didn't even say..."
"You don't have to," Warren interrupted "I'm certain whatever it is will be both embarrassing and pointless."
"Warren," Will said quietly, almost warningly. Warren sighed, remembering the conversation he had had with Will earlier in the week. It mostly went along the lines of "be nice to Layla, This is harder for her than it is for us". Whatever.
"Ok. What?" Warren said while staring at Layla.
"Well, I was... I mean, me and Will were thinking... That we should all come over to your house for... A sleepover." She said hurriedly.
"Oh my god." Warren groaned and turned back to the edge of the school, pretending to step off of it.
"Layla!" Will said while nudging her violently
"I mean movie night!" She said. Layla shook her head dismissively "Not... not sleepover, movie night I mean... much more adult and..."
She paused, withering under the pressure of Warren's steely gaze
"...Hardcore?" She finished.
The group was silent for a moment, each holding their breath, waiting for some sort of reaction. They all breathed a huge sigh of relief when, instead of igniting his hands, he broke out in a huge grin.
"Ok. It was defiantly you saying hardcore that got to me." he said and began to walk to his bus. He stopped and turned back to his friends. "But no Molly Ringwald flicks... sixteen candles will never be hardcore."
Will laughed and yelled out "So seven o'clock at your house."
"Yeah yeah..."
-
"Hey guys." Warren said as he ushered his friends into his home, ignoring the slightly awed sounds they made as they saw where he lived. Will smiled at his supportivly as he passed a pile of videos to Warren. He showed them the way to the living room, where Warren had started a fire and moved in a bunch of blankets.
"Thanks Warren." said Layla "Nice house by the way. Big."
"Yeah man, this is huge for sure. You never told us you was a prince yo." Zach said loudly, after throwing an arm over Warren's shoulder. He pulled away quickly and moved to the door.
"I'll be right back." he said, before leaving the room with Will close behind him. They stepped out into the hallway and Will closed the door behind him.
"What's going on baby?" Will said. He grabbed hold of his hand and lightly stroked his fingers. "You're all grr."
"I'm just really not the sleepover kinda guy you know. Thinking about it, it's really not hardcore..."
"Well, no, but its fun, trust me." Will said.
Warren turned his head away and sighed.
"Come on Warren, these people are your friends. And this is the first time we have gotten to all spend time together since me and you got things going on. It'll be good for them to see we're still the same guys."
Warren pulled away slightly.
"Come on Warren, for me?" Will asked. Warren sighed again before turning back to Will and kissing him softly on the lips.
"Ok. For you." He said quietly.
They walked back into the room together, holding hands, Will grinning wildly. Layla smiled at them, and patted Will on the knee, as he sat down in between Warren's legs on the floor. She then walked over to Warren's dvd player and inserted a disk.
"One for you Warren." she said and threw the case to him. He looked down at it and smiled. "The Crow".
The movie began and Will snuggled into Warren's chest, while Zach yawned to put his arm over Majenta's shoulders. She jerked away, causing a loud laugh from the group.
"Hey Woodstock." Warren said, as he poked Layla in the back. She turned around and smile "Hardcore."
-
After the movie had ended, the group of super kids had sat around, chatting loudly, eating junk food and gossiping about others from school. Will grinned as he watched Warren talking to Majenta about hair dye. He felt strange, seeing Warren like this. He was proud of Warren. Will loved to see him when he was like this, when he dropped his rough exterior and let others into his life. When he was happy, he glowed and it made Will feel warm inside.
Suddenly the clock struck midnight. Ethan jumped up quickly and pulled on his orange converse.
"I gotta go guys, I'm supposed to be home right now." He said while pulling the laces tightly.
"You're not staying?" Warren asked
"Can't," Ethan replied "My mom's still a little over protective"
"I can walk with you then." Warren said.
"I'm ok Warren, but thanks."
"Popsicle come on, it's midnight. You're not walking home alone. Your mom would kill me!" Warren said. He punched Ethan lightly on the arm "lets go."
"Ok. Thanks man." Ethan said before turning to the others "See ya guys!"
A round of goodbyes filled the room. Will smiled at Warren and mouthed "Thanks." before the two exited the room, stepping out into the cool night air.
-End of Chapter-
AN: So, going somewhere with this, I know this chapter seems weird, and just a bunch of "Aww Warren is SO CUTE!" moments, but its more than that. I have a solid plan now.
