Disclaimer: I don't own Sky High.
Read on, oh faithful ones...
...
Chapter Eighteen
...
"When I said you were grounded, this isn't what I meant could happen, Warren," his mother said with a heavy sigh.
From their seats at the table, Zach and Ethan both grinned guiltily.
"Sorry, Ms. Peace. We didn't think it would be a problem, since Warren's not technically leaving the house," Layla said, attempting a quick smile.
"Technically, being grounded means that he's not meant to see friends outside of school or work," she replied, her eyebrow raised slightly.
"Even if this is for school?" Layla asked.
She sighed heavily in response, throwing her arms up and leaving the room.
"You've really got to teach me how to do that," Warren muttered once his mother was out of earshot.
Layla just grinned and shook her head at him before turning back to her homework.
...
"Morning, Warren," Layla said, smiling at him as he sat beside her on the bus.
"It's a Monday, what's so good about it, hippie?" he muttered, his eyes closing.
"Well, since you were grounded because of me, I wanted to make up for it. So..." she trailed off as she opened her bag, rifling through it to find what she was looking for.
Warren's nose recognised the smell moments before he registered exactly what it was, and he was already halfway to sitting up properly when he opened his eyes.
"I bought you chocolate covered coffee beans," Layla said, grinning at his expression. "And a calendar," she added, passing him the small block of paper. "I told you I'd buy you coffee and a calendar, didn't I?"
"Yes, you did," he agreed, nodding, his eyes solely on the paper bag.
He took the offered bag of chocolate coffee beans quickly, opening it and breathing in deeply, savouring the sweet and bitter scents. His mouth watered in anticipation, and it took a lot of willpower to not just tip the bag back into his mouth and chew.
"Thanks, hippie," Warren said, grinning at her.
Looking immensely pleased at his response, she grinned in return, then gestured to the bag. "Don't let me hold you up."
He nodded, taking a small handful, dropping a few of the beans into his mouth. The taste overwhelmed him in the best way possible, and Warren knew that whatever punishment he'd received for getting into a fistfight with Stronghold was well worth the chocolate covered caffeine. It was like some heavenly drops of coffee and chocolate had just melted in his mouth. Warren took another mouthful and closed his eyes, deciding to lose himself to his sense of taste and not think until they reached Sky High.
It took him a few moments to realise that someone had moved to the back seat and was sitting next to Layla. She'd edged closer to Warren slightly, and on feeling her body pressing next to his, he finally opened his eyes. Seeing the little runt sitting next to Layla, he glared, setting his bag of heaven aside carefully.
"What're you doing back here?" he growled at the blonde little boy.
The boy blanched slightly, but didn't seem to get the hint, and stayed where he was. "I was just ... I mean, I wanted to know," he babbled, then finally caught himself and turned to look at Layla properly. "I was wondering if you'd like to go out on a date with me sometime?"
Her eyes widened in surprise, her heart seemed to be pounding in her ears and chest, and she'd suddenly forgotten how to breathe and talk.
"Now, I don't see why Layla would want to do that when she's already dating me," Warren remarked, his tone completely casual as he wrapped an arm around her shoulders.
If it weren't for the fact that his body temperature seemed to rise a few degrees, Layla could have been fooled by his tone herself. They weren't dating - and still had yet to discuss any of the heated kisses they'd had - and there was an ache in her chest at the thought. But then, she reasoned, he could have realised how uncomfortable she felt, and was just making stuff up to get the kid to go.
"She ... I mean, you are?" the boy asked, staring at her.
Layla doubted that a nod would suffice. Around them, people were watching the interaction, their gazes silent but intent. She wondered if they'd make a sound if the bus went off the edge of the freeway right now.
"Yes, I'm dating Warren," Layla said, her voice clearer than she thought it would be.
Warren smirked at the runt, and pulled Layla onto his lap, his hands at her waist as he kissed her hotly. As they kissed, his lips burning against hers, his hands close to flaming, and her own body responding in kind, Layla suddenly began appreciate the taste of coffee.
Oblivious to either of them, the boy left, his eyes wide and face pale. He was just glad that Warren hadn't taken offence to him hitting on his girlfriend and roasted him alive!
Noise began immediately, and as the bus dropped off the unfinished road, their gossiping whispers were replaced by screams at the sudden change in altitude.
Layla - who hadn't been strapped on to a seat, and was only sitting now due to Warren's grip on her hips and gravity - pulled away from the kiss, feeling lightheaded.
"Thanks, Warren. You didn't have to do that; I could have let him down," she said, her cheeks red.
"I know I didn't; I wanted him - and everyone else, for that matter - to know that you're mine," Warren said, his voice husky.
"Yours?" she echoed, unable to feel degraded or insulted at his choice of words. She liked the idea of being his, and only his. So long as he was only hers. "You're mine too, right?" Layla asked, looking at him.
He grinned and nodded, moving to kiss her again. She let him kiss her for a moment, pulling away again.
"Ask me properly then," she said in his ear.
"Go out with me, hippie?" Warren asked.
"You want to go out with me, but you won't even call me by my name?" Layla asked, frowning briefly.
"No, because every time I say your name, it comes out like this, Layla," he said, and she knew that the two small syllables of her name had never sounded so sinful, nor so full of promise and desire before.
She blushed as his voice and her name seemed to travel across her skin, goosebumps following, and a trail of heat burning inside her in their wake. The lines of heat converged in her stomach, tightly wound coils of desire that would spring open if he ever said her name like that again.
"See what I mean?" Warren asked, smirking at her.
"Does the same thing happen to you if I say your name?"
"You could try it, but I'm barely controlling the fire now. Maybe wait until we've landed," he said with a grin.
Grinning back at him, Layla moved slightly, kissing him again. This kiss was softer than any before, like petals brushing against his lips.
Warren held himself back from deepening the kiss, wanting nothing more than to ravish her mouth with his; he wanted her to burn the way he did. As if she'd read his mind, her kiss became more heated. He realised then that she was like a flower, opening up for the first time, petals slowly unfurling to reveal the beauty inside. (If anyone was reading his thoughts right now, he'd seriously have to kill them or something.)
A tingling thought in the back of his mind made it's way to the front. Can't wait to make love to her. Which was ridiculous, of course. Warren Peace did not make love. He fucked, took, devoured, had sex, and he was not sweet or cute or soft. But Layla kind of made him want to be; she deserved to be treated better than he'd treated his past girlfriends.
Oh, he sounded pussy whipped already. Next thing he knew, he'd be holding her books and walking her to class. He barely repressed a shudder at the thought. Although, if anyone was looking to hurt him in any way, they'd go for Layla first, and where better to hurt someone than in a crowded school where no one would stand out? He'd better walk with her.
Layla slid off Warren's lap gently, a belt strapping her into the seat immediately. Her cheeks were red, her lips were swollen, and she was fairly sure that she'd stolen some of Warren's fire, because her body felt like it was burning from her head to her toes. She saw Sky High come into view, and smiled, turning to Warren and putting her lips close to his ear.
"Best Monday morning ever," she said, laughing softly against his skin.
He didn't have time to reply, because the bus landed, and they quickly concentrated on keeping their breakfast down. The driver still hadn't learnt how to land smoothly, and today was no exception. As usual, Warren waited for Layla to get off the bus first, but this time, instead of parting ways, he started to walk with her to class.
"What are you doing?" she asked with a slight frown.
"Walking you to your first class," Warren replied briefly.
"I can see that, but why? You've never walked with me before," Layla pointed out.
"It's normally what guys do for their girlfriends," he said, shrugging.
She smiled slightly at the term, but then her smile slipped and she shook her head. "You don't have to walk me, Warren. And let's face it: we're not exactly normal compared to other people and their relationships."
(Damn, if her saying his name didn't make him want to back her against the closest wall and kiss her until she was begging for him.)
"Well, that's true," he said with a grin. "You sure you'll be able to get to class okay on your own?"
"Unlike the previous two years?" she pointed out, her eyebrow raised at him.
"All right, but if anyone says or does anything, you tell me and I'll roast them."
Layla rolled her eyes at him, but grinned slightly. She kissed him, pulling away before they got too involved, and hurried to homeroom. Warren waited for a moment before going to the junior's homeroom.
...
Zach watched them, scrutinising every look, every motion, everything they weren't saying and everything they were saying.
"Are you all right, Zach?" Layla asked, frowning at him briefly.
He started, surprised at her question. "Yeah, fine. Why wouldn't I be?"
"Because you've got a bowl of ravioli in front of you - which you usually devour in minutes - and you haven't had a bite yet," she replied, looking at his food pointedly.
"What's up, glow stick?" Warren prompted when Zach didn't say anything for a long moment.
"Heard a rumour that you two are dating. Well, not a rumour, exactly, because Johnny boy catches the same bus as you two, and he said that Warren said that you were dating, and you agreed, and then spent the rest of the trip sucking face," Zach rambled.
"We did not suck face," Layla said, her expression a mix between a glare and frown. "We kissed, and it was way more appropriate than anything other people - who shall remain nameless - do at lunch!" she said, rolling her eyes.
"So you are dating then?" Ethan asked, looking between the two.
Warren nodded in response.
"Then why aren't you acting all mushy and stuff? Don't you like each other? Is this just a ruse to make everyone leave you alone?" Zach asked, his tone demanding answers.
Layla snorted a laugh. "When have you ever seen Warren be mushy and stuff?"
"She's got a point there," Ethan said, pushing his glasses up his nose.
Zach opened and closed his mouth a few times. "Okay, fine. What about you then? I've seen you be mushy heaps of times!" he said, looking at Layla.
She shrugged slightly. "I don't need to be mushy to communicate with Warren. Although, if I really wanted to, I'm sure I could dredge up an appropriate amount of mush. I'd start with cutie, and maybe evolve into cutie-pie, and then I could settle on honey-bun," Layla said, her voice serious but the light in her eyes betrayed her.
Warren's hands lit up, and his jaw clenched tightly. Across from them, Ethan and Zach were laughing behind closed fists.
"I'm joking. Breathe, there you go," she said, patting his extinguished hand softly. "Hmm, maybe I should call you hottie instead," Layla muttered, blowing onto her palm.
"No nicknames. Ever," Warren growled, his gaze fixated on the two boys across from them.
Ethan's laughter stopped immediately, and Zach went quiet a moment later, but still grinned brightly.
"Are you all right?" Warren asked, looking at Layla's tender hand.
"It's fine, I promise. I told you, I've done worse with poisonous plants," she said, rolling her eyes at his concern.
"Well, there's the mush you wanted," Ethan muttered to Zach quietly.
He nodded in agreement, grinning again.
"Ethan? Do you mind if I borrow the book for Save the Citizen?" Layla asked when she'd looked up from her hand.
"Not at all. I'll go get it for you now," Ethan said, leaving before anyone could stop him.
"Planning the next game a bit early, aren't you?" Zach asked, frowning.
"Something like that," Layla said with a noncommittal sound.
"What are you doing, Lay?" he asked.
"Nothing you need to worry about, glow worm," Warren said, glaring at him.
"It's all right, Warren. He's asking a perfectly legitimate question. But you won't get an answer until later. You're not quite ready for the truth, Zach. Trust me on this," Layla said, giving him a sympathetic smile.
"It's something ... E-V-I-L, isn't it?" he whispered, working hard to keep his thoughts under control. Who knew who Donny the mind-reader was listening to?
Warren leant forward, his eyebrow raised slightly. "Everyone here can spell, glow worm," he whispered, mocking him. "Well, maybe not everyone," he amended with a grin.
Zach's face broke out into a grin when neither one denied it, and he looked at Layla. "I could be ready for the truth, Layla. How do you know I'm not?"
She shrugged briefly, not knowing how nor wanting to explain the vines under her skin, how they were telling her to wait, how she just seemed to know who was evil and who wasn't. Layla hadn't lied when she'd told Warren about girls talking incessantly when they were in the bathroom, she just hadn't mentioned the fact that the vines under her skin had started to vibrate intensely when Wendy Walker had entered the bathroom, and she'd almost screamed in pain at the sensation. The school files she'd read only yesterday made a lot of sense, and she'd found herself looking at a lot of people very differently over the course of the day.
"Hey, Layla. Here's the book for you. Did I miss something?" Ethan asked, looking between the three of them with a frown.
"No, Warren was just threatening Zach to roast him for trying to think of another nickname for him," Layla lied easily.
"Yeah, I was thinking of the Human Cigarette... What? He burns, and has the potential to kill, it could work," Zach muttered when they all looked at him oddly.
"Let me reiterate my earlier threat: if you so much as think of a nickname to call me by, I will not only roast you, I'll take so long to do it that you'll beg for death. Got it?" Warren growled, glaring at Zach.
"Got it!" Ethan said, his eyes wide in fear.
Zach just shook his head, grinning again.
"Well, that's interesting," Layla murmured to herself.
Her voice was quiet enough that she hardly heard her own voice, but Warren must have heard her, because he stopped glaring at Zach and looked to her curiously.
Layla didn't answer his unspoken question, continuing to flick through the pages of the book. It was very interesting to see that every single person she knew was evil - whether through her own response to them, or their results from their assignment - had not asked to compete against her and Warren. She knew that there was probably a reason for it, and she wondered what would happen if she challenged Wendy to participate in Save the Citizen.
When he realised that Layla wasn't going to reply, Warren simply turned back to his lunch. He'd ask her later when they weren't surrounded by people who could be listening to everything they were saying and thinking.
Zach finally realised that he wasn't going to get any answers from either them, and decided to eat his lunch before it went cold.
...
Layla arrived at work to find the room to The Monster locked, and through the small window on the door she could see that her work from Friday evening was still on the seat, untouched and neatly in place. After everyone had left on Friday, Ms. Peace had pulled Layla aside to give her a key to the room. She'd convinced the Mayor that a key was necessary, as it probably wasn't the best idea to keep the room unlocked due to the type of files that were kept in the filing cabinet, especially with the upcoming election. The opposition would pay good money to find out exactly what the Mayor and his party had spent on their various holidays and "conferences" in the Bahamas. The Mayor had agreed immediately, handing her the key to make a copy.
Ms. Peace smiled briefly over at Layla, seeing the relief on the poor girl's face on finding the door still locked and her work tidy. She'd watched as Layla had put a heavy paperweight on the pile of paper, to ensure nothing would happen just in case the ceiling fan mysteriously turned on by itself again, despite being inside of a locked room. There had been a fierce determination in her eyes, and a small amount of sadness at the thought of possibly finding everything a mess again. Ms. Peace was happy that it was still all in place.
Stepping into the room, Layla closed the door behind her and set to work. After resorting all of the papers last week, she was almost finished the second drawer. A few papers had been placed on her tray that she'd left outside last week, and she added those to the growing piles of paperwork before opening the second drawer and pulling out a batch of files to sort.
In what felt like mere minutes, two hours had passed, and Ms. Peace knocked on the door to inform Layla that it was time for her break. Thanking her quickly, Layla stood and left to go with her to the staff room.
...
By the time her shift finished at 8pm, Layla had finished sorting the third and final drawer of The Monster. The paperwork that rested on the chair was sorted alphabetically, and she was close to finishing the relabelling of the files in the drawers. Ms. Peace said how impressed she was, watching as Layla locked the door to the small room, and tucked the key away in her bag.
"When you're finished with The Monster, you'll be able to start the photocopying requests at the end of the day. I've been doing them for you so far, because taming The Monster and getting it under control is far more important. With the election coming up soon, we'll have a lot of journalists asking for information about things we've done over the Mayor's electoral term, and we'll need to find them quickly."
"Do you think I should make a directory of sorts then, so everyone can find it without messing up The Monster again?" Layla asked.
"That's a good idea. Very good initiative," she replied with a smile.
Layla smiled brightly at the praise.
"Hey, hippie. Ready to go?" Warren asked, pushing himself off the wall by the door when his mother and Layla exited the building.
"Hi," she said with a bright smile, moving to kiss him.
He hesitantly kissed her back, his hands on her hips gently.
"So you two are finally dating then?" Warren's mother asked, grinning broadly at her son's expression. It was about time; they'd been dancing around each other for more than two weeks! Or really, before that, when Warren had first agreed to go to Homecoming with Layla the year before.
"Yes," Warren replied, nodding, his cheeks flushed.
"If my son says or does anything that you're not comfortable with, tell me and I'll sort him out. And if you hurt Warren in any way, shape, or form, I will bring you so much pain that you won't even remember what it's like to not be in pain. Understood?"
"Yes, ma'am. I have no intention of hurting him," Layla promised.
"Good. Now, go before you miss your bus," she said, shooing them away.
Warren nodded, leaving before his mother could say or do anything that would embarrass him.
"Was that really necessary, hippie?" he muttered when they were seated on the bus ten minutes later.
"Kissing you, or kissing you in front of your mother?" she asked, grinning at him.
"The latter."
"It definitely was necessary. I doubt she'd appreciate hearing about our relationship from someone else. Besides, since you're still grounded, it's not like we can make out at any other time."
He shook his head at her grin. "What was interesting earlier? You were looking at Ethan's book for Save the Citizen," Warren prompted.
"Oh, that. I was reading the student files over the weekend, and most of the ones who could be permanent markers haven't asked to compete against us... Now, are you going to kiss me or not?" Layla asked, her eyes twinkling as she grinned at him.
Warren immediately pulled her onto his lap, kissing her intently, his lips burning against hers. Layla kissed him back eagerly, her hands gripping his shoulders. She wriggled slightly, and he groaned into her mouth at the sensation she caused, his hands heating up quickly. Warren hurried to move them before he burned her, his fingers splaying across her back. He pulled away reluctantly, letting his hands fall to his sides.
"What's wrong?" Layla asked, frowning briefly.
"Almost lost control," he replied, trying to keep his breathing even. "Besides, we're nearly at your stop."
Layla wondered what would happen if he did lose control, especially if she could make him lose control of his tight hold on his power. She shivered in delight at the thought.
"I trust you, Warren. Besides, I know that you would never hurt me," she said, smiling at him.
Warren didn't look as confident as she did, but then the bus came to a stop and they hurried to get off, Layla thanking the driver.
"You sure you can't stay over? I'll make it worth your while," Layla cajoled.
Her words set him alight instantly, and Warren struggled to keep his flames under control before extinguishing them. He saw the grin on Layla's face and growled, a deep sound reverberating from deep in his throat.
"Not funny, hippie."
"Oh, I think it was," she said with a laugh, her eyes shining. "I wasn't joking anyway," Layla added, grinning again.
Warren growled at her once more, taking her wrists in his hands, pulling her to his body, his lips devouring against hers. She seemed to melt against him, her teeth and lips ferocious. She didn't seem to mind that her wrists were being burned and bruised by his grip. When his need for oxygen made his lungs burn, Warren pulled away, licking his lips. Layla grinned up at him, her lips swollen and dark from the various nips and bites he'd made on the soft flesh.
"If I don't go now, I'm not going to leave," he muttered, but couldn't bring himself to move.
"You probably should go now then," she agreed breathlessly.
Despite both of their words, Warren and Layla began kissing again, his hands finally letting go of her wrists. Moments later, her arms were wrapped around his neck, and his hands were resting against the small of her back. Their bodies were pressed against each other, and he couldn't hide his response to her body, kisses, or the little moans she was making at his ministrations. Again, it was only a need for oxygen that had them pulling apart, and Warren forced himself to step back away from the temptation of her.
"See you tomorrow, Warren," she said, grinning.
Layla turned and walked away before he could settle his mind down enough to answer her. He lingered for a moment, watching the movement of her hips as she walked, before turning and leaving too. As he walked back to the bus stop, Warren noticed that despite the late hour, the flowers in the houses sculpted gardens had all bloomed.
...
End of the eighteenth chapter.
Thank you for reading, I hope you liked it!
