AN: W00t. I finally finished it. Oh My God, this chapter was a bitch to write. Mostly because of the Ironic Over-Power kicking my ass with this particular scenario. Standard disclaimer applies. Yadda yadda yadda. Enjoy!
Make it Right: Yuri
Oh God. Oh God, oh God, oh God. What have I done? Okay, no, wrong question. I know what I've done. I've just rejected Warren Peace. What am I going to do? I stood on the balcony, frozen, my mind still trying fruitlessly to process information. Warren Peace liked me. As in…ride off into the sunset on a friggin' white horse liked me. Since when? And why did it have to be my hott best guy friend. The one all the girls not in our circle are always saying I'm so lucky to spend time with? The one who's secretly the most crushed-on boy in school?
And why me? Of all people? We'd gone over it before. It's a proven fact. Guys don't ask me out. Or if they do, they sure aren't interested in my personality. And…seriously, was there something wrong with me? There I was, trying to figure out why guys and I just didn't work, relationship-wise, when I should have been trying to figure out what the hell I was going to say to Warren at school the next day.
Aw, shit. What the fuck was I going to say to Warren?
There was really only one thing to do in a situation like that. Sit and think. I couldn't call Layla because she'd be all 'Ohmigod! You guys are perfect and you just don't know it' and Maj would be like 'Haha, Warren sang to you. That's funny.' So I was really stuck by my lonesome, lying on my bed, and just feeling generally shitty.
There was, of course, the chicken shit option of just ignoring it and hoping that it went away. But we'd probably end up estranged and I'd lose a really good friend. Then I got to thinking about the 'friend' part of our relationship. I kind of liked the aspect of all my other, non-Sky High social group, friends would say 'wow, who's the hottie?' when seeing pictures of whatever random high school stunts we ended up commemorating on film. It was fun. Like, wow, I'm the cool girl with the hot guy friend. Insert smiley face.
And I got to wondering more about the why and when this whole Warren-crushing-on-me thing happened. Because, hey, even with female intuition, sometimes everyone is oblivious. God, had I been oblivious? Was it obvious to everyone except me? And, if so, how stupid was I? But then, I couldn't call anybody because maybe nobody else knew and I really didn't need to deal with different opinions on the subject because I really didn't have one of my own yet. It would have been so much easier if I could just say 'I like him' or 'I don't like him.' But no, I was 'I really don't know because I've never actually thought about it and is that a sign that I don't like him or just a cover-up for the overly-cliché realization that I've liked him all along?' And it was really very, very irritating.
"Ugh." I shut my eyes tightly, trying to will myself into unconsciousness and failing miserably.
Shutting off the lights, I stared at the ceiling. Warren was so…hopelessly endearing when he wasn't about to kick you in the face and I didn't want to lose that, no matter what answer I gave him. I'd miss the way he'd smirk so infuriatingly when he knew something I didn't. Or how he'd wait for me to screw up and then chuckle quietly on the sidelines. And how he knows he's hot shit, but doesn't act like it, even though he could. Homework really wouldn't be the same without being able to call him about English and knowing he'd call about Math. And I sure as hell would miss punching him when he was stupid and watching while he pretended it didn't hurt because, unlike most guys, Warren's pretty good at it. So then I got to hit him twice. Then, somewhere between musing over the particular timbre of his voice and the exact shade of chocolate-y goodness in his eyes, I sat bolt upright in bed.
"Aw, shit."
Okay. Okay, I could handle. I could. I really could. I mean, people get crushes every day. I mean, individual people don't get daily crushes, but people in general are always falling in and out of love. So really, this wasn't a big deal. Really.
"Oh God, kill me now."
Well…so maybe it was a big deal. Because I was pretty sure the boy who was crushing on me that I realized I was now crushing on probably didn't want to see me, since I didn't say anything really coherent when he told me. If that made sense at all. So that put me pretty low on the friend-o-meter. Well, or the people-in-general-o-meter. Whichever way you looked at it.
"Aaaugh."
And I certainly couldn't call anyone at all for help dealing with the colossal epiphany of realizing that I was totally crushing on my best guy friend, on account of my being generally shitty to said friend. And having to see him in school the next day. And still not knowing what the hell I was going to say to him. Maybe I wouldn't have to say anything. Maybe I could just…avoid him until I thought of something really good to say and thus redeem myself in his eyes. And then we'd proceed to a very nice make-up session, perhaps involving kissing, among other things. Insert mental leer. Pshyeah. Right.
"Mushrooms on a pogo stick."
Life was such a bitch.
Okay, so I totally chickened out of talking to Warren at school. I'm not stupid. That's a lot of embarrassment, on both sides, without the added pressure of peers watching your every move. So I skipped out at lunch and went to Subway, eat fresh.
Upon arriving home, I dutifully threw my book bag on the couch and forgot about it. Muttering a quick prayer for anti-stupidity, I grabbed Warren's jacket off my bed and headed back out the door. I was quite aware of the fact that it was drizzling slightly when I got off the bus. But realizing I had to walk the mile or so as I had no car and no license and I certainly wasn't going to teleport if I didn't know exactly where I was going, that sucked.
Taking a deep breath, I grabbed an umbrella and started off.
Thankful the drizzle had stopped, I concentrated on looking at street addresses. I stopped in front of 3867 Seaview Crest, and looked up. Staring at the house, I was pleasantly surprised. I'd always pictured Warren living in an apartment with just his mom. But there was an empty three-car garage and Warren's bike parked out on the driveway. Not to mention a child's bicycle and a couple of scooters on the front lawn.
As I was about to start up the walkway, a blond ten-year old shot out the front door, two younger brunettes in tow, grabbing the various child-oriented modes of transportation. "C'mon guys! We havta meet Aunt Lynn at the park! She's gonna teach us to do wheelies!" Gleeful squeals ensued as they raced off down the street.
Looking after them, I smiled slightly. Then, taking another deep breath, I walked up to the door and knocked.
I read the surprise on his face when he opened the door. "Hey," he said quietly.
"Hey." I looked up at him; God, he was tall. "Um, how are you doing?"
"Fine." A short, awkward silence permeated the air. "Uh, we missed you at lunch today."
"I know," I shrugged. "I cut to eat off campus. Cafeteria food is only tolerable so much of the time."
Warren smirked. "Don't I know it."
"So…" I peered into the house. It kind of reminded me of my cousin's house. With lots of family pictures and children's toys on the floor, not to mention the frumpy couch just perfect for kids to bounce on.
Warren coughed. "What are you doing here?"
"I uh," I smiled sheepishly, holding up his jacket. "I came to return this."
He regarded me critically, left eyebrow raised. "Oh."
"Because you, um, left it at my house." I shifted uneasily from foot to foot, handing it to him.
"Well," he took the jacket and tossed it inside. "Thanks."
"No problem." I opened my mouth and shut it quickly. "Um."
"Yeah?"
"Can I…can I come in?" I looked nervously up at Warren, biting my lip.
He stared at me for a moment before stepping aside. "Yeah, sure."
I trailed after him, taking in the place. There was that ugly messenger bag he insisted on carrying to school (though I know Layla bought him a backpack for Christmas). His motorcycle gloves were tossed on a coffee table along with his keys and wallet. As I looked around, Warren picked up his jacket and gestured for me to follow him.
Up a wooden staircase, we entered a room near the end of a corridor. Most definitely a boy's room. His guitar rested on a stand in a corner along with some textbooks. A bookshelf (everything in alphabetical order) lined one wall while posters of his favorite bands and movies lined another. I laughed. Warren even had a comic-book era Spider-Man poster signed by Peter Parker himself, something, I realized, that must have been handed down from his grandfather.
Warren caught me looking at his poster.
"Like that?" he asked, a hint of a smile playing on his lips.
I nodded. "Yeah. I mean, how did you get a poster signed by the Spider Man?"
Warren shrugged. "Ebay."
Oh. …well it could have been handed down from his grandfather.
"So, what did you want?" Warren flopped onto his bed, staring up at me as I sat in his desk chair.
"I uh…" I stood up slowly and moved to sit next to him on the bed.
Warren sat up quickly. "Whoa."
"What?"
"I didn't say anything, go on," he prompted.
"No, you distinctly said 'whoa'. What kind of 'whoa' was that?" I asked.
"It wasn't any kind of whoa. It was just…never mind. Go on."
I rolled my eyes at him. "I wanted to apologize."
He just sort of looked at me like I'd turned purple. "What for?"
"For yesterday."
"You didn't do anything," he pointed out.
"Yeah, I know. That's what I'm apologizing for." Opting for staring at my hands instead of Warren's face, I twiddled my thumbs. "Because…I really didn't know what to say."
"Mmhmm." He flopped back on the bed and sighed. "So do you know what to say now?"
I turned to look at him. "Not exactly."
"Well, then you came all this way for nothing, hmm?" Warren gave me a wry smile. "Really, I'm a big kid," he mumbled, smile going crooked.
I suppressed a grin. There were butterflies in my stomach. "That's not what I meant," I replied, flipping onto my stomach so we were eye-level. I hoped I wasn't blushing.
Warren propped himself up on his elbows. "So, what did you mean?"
I couldn't look straight at him, so I settled for somewhere around his mouth. "I didn't know…I just wasn't processing information last night, okay? My brain just completely shut down and I totally just…I don't know. And I…" Just then, I made the mistake of looking at his eyes. And I couldn't talk anymore. Because he was looking at me with a hint of a smile on his face and the breeze from the open window blowing his hair into his eyes. I couldn't help it, I smiled.
"And?"
I leaned over and lightly kissed his cheek, smiling against his skin. He pulled away, startled. Looking up into those eyes, I shrugged. "Second chance?"
Warren raised an eyebrow and smirked. "What makes you think you deserve a second chance?"
"Because I'm saying please?" I glanced up at him hopefully. "Because…I want to find out…"
"Find out?" He rolled over to look me in the eye. "Find out what?"
I turned away for a moment, knowing that I was definitely blushing. "How beautiful you and I would be," I sang softly.
Something in me melted when I worked up the courage to peek up at him. Grinning from ear to ear and looking sexy as sin, Warren leaned over and kissed me on the cheek. "Second chance."
I felt the smile stretch my face. More so when Warren sat up and gestured for me to scoot over. Settling myself in the crook of his arm as we sat against the headboard, I was utterly content.
"Warren?"
He tilted his head down toward me. "Hmm?"
I raised myself ever so slightly and kissed him, for real. In between the fireworks and the butterflies, the delicious sensation of someone's fingers in your hair, and the all-around magic of a first kiss with someone you care about, I realized how very wonderful it felt to be warm after being cold for a very long time and not knowing it. Then Warren wrapped his arms around me and it didn't really matter what I was before, just what I was then: utterly content.
We showed up at school hand in hand. Layla squealed. Maj snickered. Zach seemed to be in shock while Ethan wisely chose not to react outwardly. Will, however, smirked. Then, Warren punched him in the shoulder. I rolled my eyes. Aah, high school.
Ye-Ah! I am pau. And it feels good. It's kind of sad, these people started to grow on me. But, alas, this is my farewell to chapter stories in the Sky High-dom. One-shots may still be forthcoming. (I'm always up for challenges.)
Thank yous to…
Readerfreak10: have I redeemed myself for being mean to Warren?
west trekker: Thanks. Originally, I was going to make it all fairy-tale-y with no intermittent drama. Then I decided it didn't really work.
Off Dreaming: OMG! Clay Aiken. Squee. My favorite Adult Contemp artist. Teehee.
Kris932: Much thanks. Did the final installment live up to expectations?
horsebookworm: Last one, hope you likey. :insert smiley:
Also, thank you to all the lurkers who read.
Much love,
SeraphStar
