Disclaimer: I don't own Sky High.

Read on, oh faithful ones...

...

Chapter Thirty Seven

...

"So, not that I'm not awed to be invited to the great Warren Peace's home, but why'd you invite me? I could've just hung out by myself," Adam said, shrugging.

"I know what it's like to be left on your own, and I know it sucks sometimes. So, yeah, you could've hung out by yourself, but this is better," Warren replied as he headed up the driveway and opened the front door.

"How? You don't have cable," Adam pointed out, though he was grinning.

"Neither do you."

"Not the point," Adam said with a laugh.

"Warren, I need you to hang out the laundry... I didn't realise you were bringing a friend home," Nina said, surprised to see someone who wasn't Layla, Ethan, or Zach.

"This is Adam from school. Adam, this is my mum."

"Nice to meet you, ma'am," Adam said pleasantly.

"You too, Adam. How did you two meet?"

"Layla," Warren said, as if that answer alone explained everything. (It kind of did, though.)

"Ah, of course. I'm glad she's helping you expand your social circle, Warren. A circle with four people is just a square, anyway."

"Okay, I'll go hang up the laundry, geez!" Warren groaned, sparing Adam a pitying look before he left for the laundry.

"Um... what just happened?"

"Later," Nina waved off his question. "Now, why don't you start off by telling me what power you have?" she asked with an easy smile.

Adam felt an itching compulsion to answer, and he answered before he fully processed the itching sensation at all. "Acid spit, ma'am."

Warren hung up the laundry as fast as possible, but ten minutes had passed by the time he made it back inside, and he found his mother still interrogating Adam. Adam looked somewhat dazed from his mother's power and Warren stepped between his mother and Adam. Nina looked up at him in surprise.

"Have you finished interrogating my friend yet?"

"I wasn't interrogating him, we were simply having a conversation," Nina replied.

"No one looks like that when you 'simply have a conversation' with them," Warren said. "I'll be lucky if he ever comes back here willingly."

"Oh, I certainly hope he does. Adam's a lovely young man," Nina said, smiling over at him.

"Th-thank you, ma'am," Adam stammered.

"Mum, seriously, back off. You'll have to take him to the hospital in a minute," Warren muttered.

Nina raised her hands. "All right, I'll leave you two boys to it then. Have fun," she said, leaving a moment later.

"Sorry, Adam. Are you okay?"

"I feel like your mother literally peeled my brain apart just by talking to me; what the hell do you think?" Adam spat.

"Fuck. C'mon, let's go out the back," Warren muttered, heading over to the sliding door that led outside.

Adam followed reluctantly, contemplating whether he should just leave and never come back. He stepped outside, his eyes widening when he saw that Warren's hands were lit up with fireballs.

"What the hell are you doing? You'll be seen," Adam hissed, looking to each side of the yard. His fears dissipated almost instantly, seeing how tall the fences were. "How'd you get permission to get the fences that high?"

"You just met my mother, didn't you?" Warren asked, smirking.

Adam gave a brief nod of understanding. "She's fucking terrifying."

"Yeah, I know. Don't tell her that though," he added.

"Nah, man. Wouldn't tell my mum that either," Adam said with a slight laugh.

Warren grinned back at him and held up a fireball in his hand. "Want to practice or not?"

Adam grinned. "Ready when you are."

...

They stopped practising when Warren received a text from Layla to say she was home, almost an hour later, her message lamenting at the length of the journey with the bus' weekend services.

Adam laughed at how fast Warren replied. "Man, you're whipped."

"The fuck?" Warren growled.

"Oh, I have to text my girlfriend every minute we're apart!" Adam said mockingly in a falsetto.

"It's a safety precaution, idiot. We're both kids of super-powered parents, her Great Aunt hates both of us, and I haven't texted Layla every minute we're apart, otherwise we wouldn't have discovered how to set your spit on fire."

Adam frowned, thinking about it for a moment. "All right, I get it. Why's Layla still living with her Great Aunt if she hates her that much?"

"She doesn't have any other family to stay with, I don't have room to let her stay here, and if she tried to stay at the Hive, her Great Aunt would probably call the police. You know what happens to super-powered kids that go into the system."

Adam winced. "Yeah. I heard Indigo was used in secret super experiments."

"I heard she was recruited by the government," Warren said with a brief frown.

"Maybe it's both? Recruited and then experimented on, I reckon."

"No way; tested on first to increase powers, then recruited."

"Nah, you're wrong. It's gotta be recruited then tested; they wouldn't risk someone with powers like Indigo's to be experimented on, only for it to go wrong. They'd use her first, then experiment when they'd finished with her."

"All right, I see the logic in that. But..." Warren added, before Adam could revel in his victory, "I haven't seen any reports of people losing their vision en mass. Therefore, it's doubtful that Indigo's out and about doing errands for the government."

"You think the government would let anyone talk about that sort of thing? It'd be hushed up so fast, you'd blink and it'd be over!"

"Uh huh. And why would the government want to blind a whole bunch of people?"

"As an example and scare tactic to make others comply. Do this, or we'll blind your people like we did to people in that country!"

"You've thought about this a lot, haven't you?" Warren asked, grinning.

Adam shrugged. "Ain't got a whole lot else to do."

Warren tried not to grin too broadly. "So where do you think they'd keep someone like Indigo?"

"Well, she's still in the system and considered an orphan for all intents and purposes, y'know. I reckon there's a government-run orphanage out there, just for super kids. It'd have to be out of the way in case of any mistakes, and so no busybody neighbours start lookin' out their windows wondering why these cars and vans are taking kids away all the time without them gettin' adopted."

"Well, they could just pass it off as a place for troubled kids, so no one ever wants them for long."

"Not bad. Would be easier to explain things," Adam mused, falling silent as he got caught up in his own thoughts.

Warren went to say something, but the back door opened, and his mum looked out with a smile.

"Your mother's here, Adam. I'm happy to talk with her if you two need more time?" Nina offered.

Adam winced at the thought of his mother undergoing the same treatment from Ms. Peace that he had.

"I promise not to interrogate her," Nina added. "I apologise for doing that to you, by the way, Adam. I was simply suspicious and surprised that Warren had brought a new friend home, and I know I didn't handle it very well."

Adam sighed reluctantly. "It's all right, Ms. Peace. I'd appreciate it if you didn't do the same to my mother; she's not a super and she wouldn't understand."

"Of course. You two come inside when you're ready."

Warren waited until the door had closed again before he turned to Adam. "You're really all right with it?"

Adam shrugged. "I'll survive. Not the first time someone's used their power on me."

"Do you want to talk about it or you want to practise some more?" Warren asked.

Adam responded by smiling with a mouthful of acidic spit.

...

Layla tried to stay composed when her phone started ringing later that night.

"Hey Warren."

"Hey."

There was a long moment of silence as they both waited for the other to talk.

"Okay, I can't wait any more. What happened with Adam?" Layla asked.

"Mum traumatised him, so, you know, the usual."

"What?"

"She used her power on him within a minute of meeting him. He didn't take it too badly, really."

"He's really all right?"

"Yeah, he's fine now. We used our powers for a while, then his mum came to pick him up."

"And?"

"We both decided that our mothers are terrifying, and even more so when together."

Layla frowned. "You've completely lost me."

"They decided to organise a huge barbecue for us and all of our friends, so all of the parents and guardians can meet properly. Apparently, if it was left up to us, they'd only meet at graduation."

"That's not the worst thing in the world," Layla muttered, thinking of her Great Aunt.

"They've already invited Mrs. Damsale, and talked Zach into getting his parents to turn up as well. I think the only reason Mum didn't call you is because she wants to invite Greta personally."

"That's probably not the best idea, Warren. I'm not even sure if the vines in Zach's father will handle mass socialising like this."

"It's a barbecue, so I doubt anyone's going to expect him to be Mr. Social and start the conga, hippie. Everyone will just think he's cold or aloof, and probably bitch about him after he's left."

"All right. Get your mum to call me tomorrow; she can ask Greta then."

"Are we going to invite everyone that we saw today, or just permanents?"

"We'd better invite everyone; it'd make it easier to seem normal with a mix of permanent and plain."

There was a noise in the background, and Warren groaned. "I swear, the way Mum's talking about it, she's going to invite all of Sky High."

"Fuck, I hope not. We'd have to deal with Will and Magenta then."

Warren snorted. "It'd be a good excuse to 'accidentally' burn him with the barbecue."

Layla laughed, sounding delighted. "Do you think anyone would notice if barbecued guinea pig was served?"

"Depends what sauce it was covered in," Warren said, chuckling. "Oh, and don't worry, Mum's getting veggie burgers and tofu dogs for you and anyone else that wants them."

"When's it being planned for? Must be soon if they're already talking buying everything."

"End of the month. That gives everyone enough time to get a day off from work, even me," Warren said sarcastically, quoting his mother's words from earlier.

"Think of all of the socialising you can do. Maybe you could start a conga line instead of Mr. Brighton," Layla said with another laugh.

"Not funny, hippie."

"It was a little funny," she replied, barely holding her grin back. "I'd better get to bed now. See you in the morning."

"Yeah, see you, hippie."

Layla had barely hung up the call before there was a knock at her door.

"Frieda's invited herself and Honey over for dinner tomorrow. Come home straight after work," Greta said, leaving again before Layla could reply.

"Thank you for telling me!" Layla called anyway, just to spite her.

...

Apparently, Nina had meant 'personally' by 'she wanted to ask Greta actually in person'. So when Layla finished her shift at 8pm and found both Warren and Nina waiting outside, talking together by Nina's car, she was understandably surprised.

"I thought it would be better to ask your Great Aunt in person, rather than over the phone. It can be so impersonal, and I'm sure she's appreciate knowing me in person before showing up blindly on the day. Besides, your Great Aunt's probably curious to know more about your boyfriend's wonderful mother," Nina said, grinning.

"Uh. Sure," Layla said hesitantly.

"You'll have to sit in the front and tell me how to get to your place. Someone melted the GPS again."

"That wasn't my fault! The damn thing was trying to make us drive head-on into a ditch!" Warren muttered.

"That's no reason to melt a very expensive piece of technology," Nina replied coolly.

"Right. Next time I'll let the GPS kill us," he muttered, barely under his breath.

"My Great Aunt has a friend and her daughter over for dinner, so I'm meant to go home as soon as possible," Layla interjected, hoping to stop the impending (or continuing) argument.

"Ms. Bettendorf's going to be there?" Warren asked, wincing.

"She's the one that calls you cutie?" Nina asked, sounding absolutely delighted. "Well, then it's settled; I definitely have to meet them. In the car, both of you."

"Oh, god," Warren groaned, but slid into the backseat nonetheless.

Layla sat in the front, as Nina had requested, and dutifully helped her navigate towards the border of Westville where her Great Aunt lived.

This was going to be interesting.

Layla didn't protest when Warren grabbed her bag before she could even get it on her shoulder, nor when he took her hand, his palm warm and firm in hers. A feeling of calm rushed from the flames on her wrist, and it was only then that Layla realised just how nervous she was.

Nina walked a few steps behind, trying not to crowd them. Layla fished her keys from the front pocket of her schoolbag, opening the door and subtly using a vine to undo the latch. Warren muttered low under his breath at that, but Layla gave a minute shake of her head, and simply walked inside with him and Nina following.

"Greta, I'm home," Layla called.

"Good, hurry up. Frieda and Honey have been talking my ear off all evening and - " Greta muttered, coming out of the kitchen and into the hallway, stopping short when she saw the other guests. "What's he doing here? And who's that? I thought I told you to come home straight after work, not pick people up on the side of the road and bring them into my house uninvited!" Greta snapped, glowering at Warren and Nina.

Frieda and Honey were standing in the kitchen doorway, Frieda frowning at her friend, and Honey looking as though she was fighting back a smile. Layla looked down at the carpet, cheeks red at her relative's words. Behind her, she could practically feel Nina going tense and angry at the treatment and unnecessary words.

"Greta, this is Warren's mother, Nina. Nina, this is my Great Aunt, Greta. Excuse me, I'm going to put my things away," Layla said, tugging Warren along with her, since he still had her bag. "Hi Frieda, hi Honey."

Frieda squeezed her shoulder gently, smiling at Warren, and moved past to go to where Greta and Nina were still standing.

"Hey, sweetie. Thanks for starting things off," Honey said quietly, winking at her.

"Starting what off?" Warren asked, confused.

"Tonight's entertainment," Honey said, nodding to where her mother was now standing between Greta and Nina. "Hurry back," she added, pushing them gently towards the stairs.

Layla and Warren practically flew upstairs, Warren dumping Layla's bag by the door, and Layla almost falling over herself to get her shoes off and change into a more comfortable shirt at the same time.

"Slow down, hippie, you'll brain yourself on your desk if you're not careful," Warren muttered, taking her arms and helping her slide her shirt off.

They both stilled, hearing heated words being exchanged between Greta and Nina.

" - doesn't deserve that kind of treatment!"

" - have no right to talk about my family!"

"Think Honey's got popcorn waiting?" Layla asked, her laugh muffled by her casual shirt.

"Probably not, since you're meant to be having dinner with them," Warren said practically, his hands stroking up and down her arms as she finished dressing.

Layla went up onto her toes to kiss him firmly, pulling away before their kiss could get too heated. "Come on, I want to see what happens."

Warren nodded and led her to the bedroom door, heading back towards the stairs. Layla tugged on his hand before they reached the bottom, and they sat on the stairs listening as Nina and Greta argued. Honey was sitting on the bottom step, and when they sat down, she turned and grinned up at them, throwing them a wrapped chocolate bar each.

"We'll be here for a while when Mum gets into it."

"Why would Frieda get into this argument?" Layla asked, voice quiet as she listened.

Honey grinned and held up three fingers -

"She's a child, and doesn't deserve to be treated like that! She's just lost her mother!"

- two -

"I don't give a rat's ass about her mother!"

- one.

"Greta! What's wrong with you?! She was your niece!"

"Oh, shut up, Frieda. I hadn't spoken to either of them since Layla was born!"

Layla looked at the ingredient list on the chocolate bar, deemed it acceptable, and ate it slowly as they all watched the argument continue.

About half an hour later, there was a loud and firm knock on the front door, and the three arguing women stopped abruptly. Greta glowered over at Layla as she headed to the front door.

"If this is another friend of yours, I'll - oh. Good evening, officer."

The policeman nodded at her briefly, his expression somber. "We've had reports of a noise disturbance coming from this residence."

"Never mind, sir. We're leaving. Warren, let's go. Layla, you're welcome to stay with me until you feel comfortable returning to this poisonous environment," Nina snapped, glaring at Greta.

Honey stood up abruptly, stretching. "Can we head off now, Mum? I'm hungry, and I've got an early start in the morning. Warren, why don't you help Layla pack a bag?"

The police officer seemed concerned and somewhat confused at what was transpiring. Frieda smiled and patted the man's arm.

"Everything's under control, officer. You have a nice night, now. Take care, make sure you get home to your wife and baby girl," she said, guiding him back towards his car.

"Uh, but the noise - "

"Will stop now that we're all leaving," Frieda promised.

By the time Layla and Warren made it back downstairs with a bag full of clothes, her pillow, and school bag, Frieda, Honey, and Nina were all waiting outside. Greta was in the lounge room, pouring herself a large tumbler of whiskey.

"The locks will be changed in the morning," Greta called as Layla and Warren walked out.

"That won't be a problem," Warren muttered under his breath, his hands mere seconds away from heating up.

"Good news," Honey said, grinning at them. "Mum's invited you all over to her house for dinner, since we're not eating here."

"Guess it's better than takeout. What'd you bring for dinner anyway?" Warren asked.

"You'll see," Honey promised, grinning.

Honey headed over to Frieda's car, and Warren and Layla went to Nina's car, both of them quiet as they sat in the backseat. Nina looked as though she wanted to say something, but closed her mouth each time, her jaw clenched tightly. When she pulled into Frieda's driveway, Nina turned off the ignition and turned around in her seat to look at Layla.

"I am sorry to have put you through that, Layla. I had no idea your Great Aunt was so cruel. If I'd known..."

"It's all right, Nina. It's not anything you could have stopped or prevented, even if you'd made me leave within the first week. She's... Greta is a very greedy person, and she doesn't like the fact that I've come in to her life and am using her wealth to live and eat under her roof."

Nina's jaw clenched again.

"We'd better get inside before Honey or Frieda come to get us out of the car by force," Warren said, getting out of the car and taking a moment to breathe.

The door across from him opened and Layla stood, raising her eyebrows at him with a slight grin. "You're really hungry, aren't you?"

"Yeah. Hurry, or I'll eat it all myself," Warren said, heading towards the house quickly.

Layla waited until Nina was out of the car, hugging the older woman. "Thank you, Nina."

"What for?" she asked in surprise.

"For getting me out of Greta's house, even for a night," she replied. At Nina's confused look, Layla continued, "I'll have to go back eventually. She is my guardian, and until I turn 18, according to the government, I have to live with her. It's either Greta or being put into the system."

Nina's expression soured. "I'm not sure which one's worse, honestly."

"Neither am I," Layla said with a wry grin.

"Ready to eat, ladies?" Honey called from the front door, waving them over.

Nina headed to the house with Layla, wishing that there was more she could do for Layla, and not just because she was her son's girlfriend. They both stopped short in the foyer, staring at the splendour around them. Despite it being dark outside, the house was light and cheerful, the chandelier overhead bathing everything in a golden light.

"Frieda has a chandelier in every room of her house," Warren said. "And she has a jacuzzi and a pool."

"Think she'll adopt me?" Layla asked with a laugh, letting Warren lead her through the foyer towards the informal dining room where their dinner was being set up.

Honey glanced at Nina, smiling when she saw that Layla's words were sinking in, and with a soft hum, she followed after Warren and Layla.

"Vegetable curry and rice. Honey said it would be easier to reheat, and as always, she's right," Frieda said, smiling over at her daughter. "Where's your mother, dear? She hasn't gotten lost, has she?" she asked, her smile falling when she saw that Nina wasn't with them.

Warren frowned, looking to the doorway. "I thought she was right behind us. Did you see her, Honey?"

"I think she's still in the foyer. I can go, if you'd like?" Honey offered.

Frieda waved at her to stay seated. "I'm sure I'll be able to find her. You can serve dinner for everyone, if you wouldn't mind?"

"Of course not. A minute, or a minute and a half?" Honey murmured, looking from the two pots to the five bowls sitting out. "Hmm, a minute and a half for the first two, a minute for the last three," she decided, starting to serve out the rice and vegetable curry into the bowls.

"What are you doing, Honey?" Layla asked quietly.

"Serving dinner," she replied over her shoulder, grinning a bit.

"That's not what I meant, and you know it."

"Yes, I know. Warren, can you put these two bowls in the microwave for a minute and a half each, please? Kitchen's through that door there," Honey said, nodding towards a door at the other end of the dining room.

Warren looked to Layla briefly, wanting to know what was going on himself, but he grabbed the two bowls and carried them into the kitchen instead. Layla barely refrained from tapping her foot on the ground in her impatience.

"Greta's never going to be a good guardian for you, Layla, and if you stay with her, your plans will never - " Honey stopped short, and continued to serve out the bowls of food.

"It's something to think about, at least," Nina murmured to Frieda as they made their way in to the dining room.

Frieda looked from Layla to Honey, then back again, and nodded.

"Finished, now what... about the other three bowls, Honey?" Warren asked, changing the topic abruptly when he saw his mother and Frieda in the room.

"Ready to go. A minute each," she said.

Warren placed the two bowls at Nina and Frieda's places, and took the other three after giving Layla a meaningful glance.

"I'll get drinks," Layla said, going after him.

"You don't know where the glasses are," Honey muttered, following both of them.

"What's going on?" Warren asked, looking between them with a frown.

Layla opened the fridge to find something to drink, and Honey opened a cupboard door to get glasses and a serving tray out.

"If everything works the way it's supposed to, Layla may never have to live with Greta again after ... March," Honey said, setting the glasses on the tray. "Lemonade will be fine, Layla."

"That's still two months away."

"Two months is better than two years," Honey replied firmly. "The bowls, Warren."

"Huh? Oh, right," Warren muttered, swapping the final bowl and setting the microwave for a minute.

Layla concentrated on pouring the lemonade without spilling it everywhere. "How will me living with your mother help our plans?" she asked. "I thought it'd be easier with Greta, with the vines and all."

"Not necessarily. She's still fighting against them every day, and that will eventually weaken you if you stay in such a close proximity to her. Well, that's the best case scenario, at least. The worst case is... not quite as forgiving."

"Layla being weakened by her own power is forgiving?" Warren asked, not really wanting an answer.

"Don't say a thing," Honey warned them, lifting the tray of drinks and heading back to the dining room.

Layla put the bottle of lemonade back in the fridge, and took the two bowls that Warren had already heated.

"You're not meant to use your power outside of school," she said, grinning at him.

"I just stuck them in the microwave," he teased, kissing her briefly, the loud beeping of the microwave pulling them apart.

Layla waited until Warren had his own bowl, the heat not affecting his hands, and they went back to the dining room together.

Two hours later, they had all finished eating, and Nina and Frieda were discussing the upcoming barbecue. They had started discussing it during dinner, and hadn't really stopped, even though they had moved from the dining room to the lounge room and the dishes had been done in the meantime. Layla, Warren, and Honey didn't exactly get a chance to contribute much to the conversation, but they watched with amusement as the two women discussed everything with far more excitement than was probably required. It wasn't until Honey coughed loudly and drew Nina and Frieda's attention that either woman realised that Layla and Warren were dozing on the lounge, their hands curled up together gently.

"They're so cute together," Frieda said, smiling.

"They are, but don't tell Warren I said that," Nina said with a brief laugh. "We'd better get going. It's past all of our bed times, and they've got school in the morning."

"I should probably head off too, Mum. I've got a meeting in the morning that I can't miss."

Frieda nodded, standing and stretching. "It's been a wonderful night, despite the awful start. I do hope to see you again, Nina."

"I'm sure you will. Definitely at the barbecue," Nina promised, smiling at her.

Warren and Layla were woken up and led out to Nina's car sleepily, both of them dozing off again when they were seated and buckled in.

"I refuse to carry either of you inside," Nina called.

Honey smothered a laugh, and hugged Nina goodbye, her mother copying the action a moment later. "Drive safe, Nina. Have a good week."

"Thanks, Honey. You too. It was lovely to meet you, Frieda."

"You too, dear. Say goodbye to the dears for me, would you?"

"I will. Good night," Nina called, waving as she headed to her car. She waved one more time before turning on the ignition and driving home.

She glanced in the rear-view mirror, and for a moment, Nina was positive that she saw flowers growing in Layla's hair, the leaves and stems curling into Warren's long hair as well. Then she blinked and looked again, and the flowers were gone. Shaking her head, Nina muttered to herself that it was late and she was obviously seeing things, and forced herself to concentrate on driving so she'd get them all home safely.

...

End of the thirty-seventh chapter.

A/N: Just as a reminder, I now have a second account to post new stories, due to a technical fault that hasn't been resolved since last year. The link is in my profile.

Thanks for reading! I hope you liked it.