It had only been three days since his meeting with Tara, and Warren hadn't really seen her except in Hero Training. Even then he had to admit she wasn't her usual feisty self during that, he'd beaten her temperatures drastically where usually they were tied until the end of class when one of them would just happen to one up the other. Mostly him he had to admit, but it seemed like these few days she hadn't even tried.
After him beating her temperatures by a whole fifty degrees today, he knew something had to be up. That in mind, he decided that today would be the perfect day to ditch. Knowing she had class in the Mad Science Lab next, Warren hid in a broom closet and kept it cracked just enough that he could watch for the other pyrokinetic. Fortunately for him, it appeared she'd decided to ditch anyway. He caught her by the wrist just as she passed the door.
"What the fucking hell?" Tara exclaimed in shock as Warren quickly covered her mouth.
"Shh!" he said, carefully uncovering her mouth. "You'll attract teachers!"
"Warren?" she asked puzzled.
"Yeah. Figured you'd enjoy a bit of freedom." he whispered with a smirk on his lips. "Up for it?"
"Of course." She responded, sounding calmer now that she knew it was him. "What've you got planned?"
"Well, you'd have to skip the last bit of school." Warren said, hoping that she would agree.
As he awaited her answer, Warren suddenly realized exactly how close the two of them were to each other. He noticed how heavy her breathing was, as she realized the same. He realized how nice her hair smelled as she stood just short enough for him to notice. He also noticed how his own heart rate had drastically shot up.
He was just about to lift her chin so that she'd be eye level to him when she nervously replied, "Whatever gets me out of Demitri's hawk eyes."
"Great." He said, quickly lowering his hand, hoping now that she hadn't noticed. "Meet me out front in five minutes. And don't get caught."
And with that said, he opened the closet door and slipped away, glad to have cold air on his face. The breeze was just enough to clear his head from the thoughts he'd just had. It was crazy how, even though before she had seemed to despise him so much, he was so drawn to and attracted to her. He had to admit, it was a bit unsettling.
When Warren arrived out front, he pulled out his cell phone. One of the bus drivers owed him a favor for helping him with a mechanical problem and Warren decided it was time to turn it in. When the arrangement was made, Warren hit the end button just as Tara met him.
"I called in a favor from one of the bus drivers." He explained. "He said he'll take us back down as long as we don't let Powers find out."
"My lips are sealed." Tara responded, looking like she was still a bit suspicious of him.
Ten minutes later, the two teens were on the ground and walking towards Warren's house.
"And what are we doing now?" As they rounded the road to Warren's house.
"Just wait a second." He said as he walked towards the garage on the side of his house. He walked to the side where his mother kept the spare garage key hidden under a false rock. He walked back to a confused looking Tara, put the key in the handle of the garage, unlocked it, and pulled it up. Inside was an old silver Corvette that had belonged to his father. Warren had spent the summer fixing it up.
"Oh my god, its beautiful." was all that she could said, but it was enough to bring a smile to Warren's lips.
Warren smirked. "It's my dad's. Mom lets me drive it sometimes though."
Tara walked over to the driver side door and looked in. It was obvious that she was in complete awe. Warren had kept it in excellent condition. The inside looked brand new, like it'd never even been driven. He watched as she continued admiring the vehicle and walked around to the passenger side.
"Warren, this car is amazing. You are so freakin lucky." She said.
"Thanks." he replied as he unlocked the doors. "But we aren't going to stand here ogling the car. Get in, we're going to the mall."
"You, a mall type?" She asked incredulously. "Never would've thought."
"I'm not, but I figured its somewhere besides school." he replied, opening the driver side door. "But it won't be too terrible. Now get in."
The two did exactly what Warren said they were doing, and drove to the mall. Once inside, they decided to stop at the food court for something to eat since they'd not had lunch yet. After each grabbing chicken fried rice from the Chinese place, they searched for a seat.
"I love this stuff." Tara said as she put soy sauce on her rice.
"Yeah me too." Warren said as he did the same and broke his chopsticks in half. "You'd figure working around it for so long I'd get tired of it, but I don't."
"Oh right." she said, as if she'd momentarily forgotten. "How long have you been working at the Paper Lantern anyway?"
"Since I was fifteen." Warren said, taking a bite. He chewed and swallowed, adding, "So, almost two years I think."
"Wow." She said. "You must love it if you've stayed so long."
Warren shrugged. "It pays. And I've picked up a new language in the process."
Tara nodded and ate her food, looking like she had nothing to talk about. Warren then decided to initiate conversation. The two then talked about their tastes in music as they continued to eat. Twenty minutes later, and a surprising bout of laughter from Warren, the two were finished with their food and were on their way to throw their trash out.
Just as Tara threw her trash away, her phone started ringing. Warren looked at her phone curiously, wondering if they'd been found out. Letting out a quiet breath when he noticed it was just a text.
"Oh no." she said, sounding worried, as she read the text.
"What?" Warren asked, as he too threw trash away, hoping they were in the clear.
"'T where r u? Demitri keeps asking.'" she read.
"Ok, you knew he'd find out eventually." Warren said shrugging, trying to sound nonchalant, even though he really didn't want to end the day.
"Not the point." Tara said just as the ringtone went off again. "'He said that he was trying the mall first hope u aren't there'"
"Now that's bad isn't it?" Warren asked referring to the text, knowing how obvious he was being..
"Ya think Sherlock?" Tara said sarcastically. "What do we do?"
"Feel like a movie?" Warren asked suggested, knowing it would be harder for her brother to find them in a dark room. "My treat. Plus he won't be able to see us in there."
"Um, sure." Tara agreed seeming just slightly apprehensive. "Lets just hurry. I don't know how long it'll take him to get here. Plus he's got that whole invisibility factor."
"Good point." Warren said as they headed towards the theatre in the mall. When they arrived, Tara quickly pointed at a movie and Warren paid for the tickets. He hadn't realized she was into horror movies but shrugged it off and opened the door.
They quickly made their way into the theatre that their movie was in, and found a seat in the back. The two sat down just as the lights went down and the previews began. Tara sighed, and Warren noticed she closed her eyes for a second before relaxing.
"I think we're safe." Tara said. "What movie did we pick?"
"The Hills Have Eyes." Warren replied, then after seeing the look of fright on her face he realized she hadn't paid any attention when she chose. He then added, "You're the one that picked it Tara."
"Why didn't I pay attention!" she said to herself looking up to the ceiling as if to distract herself. "I usually like scary movies but this one freaks me out!"
"You've seen it?" Warren asked, wondering if it was really that bad.
"Two weeks ago with Cass and Mar." she replied.
Warren smiled to himself, careful to not let Tara see. He also tried his best to block the thought that had just occurred to him. Thankfully, and much to his relief, she didn't seem to have read it. The movie started and Warren saw Tara slide down into her seat.
Throughout the movie, Tara would jump and close her eyes. Which earned her many smirks and chuckles from Warren, who was completely calm about it. These kind of movies never really bothered him. About halfway through, Tara suddenly sat up as if something had poked her.
"What's wrong?" Warren said as his attention was averted from the movie and his thoughts to the girl beside him.
"I think Demitri's here." She whispered to him. "I just sensed him. But he's got to be invisible."
"What do we do?" Warren asked her as he began cautiously looking around for anything that would point out where her brother would have been.
"I, I don't know." Tara responded sounding nervous. Warren didn't like her being nervous. "If we get up then it'll give us away, but if we sit here he'll find us."
Warren tried to think of a plan to get them out of the theatre, but unfortunately the only thoughts he had were of Tara. He just loved how cute she sounded when she was nervous, it was almost as cute as when she was angry. Just when he was about to give up on an escape, a plan popped in his head. He just hoped that she would go along with it.
"Langley, do you trust me?" Warren asked her seriously.
"What do you mean?" Tara asked him, looking at him oddly. "Do you know a way to get us out of here?"
"Not exactly." He said, trying to find the best way to phrase his idea without sounding bad. "But it is a way to keep him from finding you."
"Oh hell!" she said having obviously read what he was thinking. "You aren't serious are you?"
"Do you want to be found out or not?" Warren asked trying to keep a small smirk hidden as he realized she might agree. "You're hair is up today and with my hair being down he won't see your face."
"But do we actually have to?" She asked, sounding a bit cautious and unsure. "Can't we just pretend or something. Like you just be close enough?"
"I guess so." Warren replied, admittedly a bit disappointed. Just as he said that they saw a man's popcorn get knocked over from the bottom row. Demitri was there, invisibility was really a bitch.
Tara quickly grabbed Warren's jacket and pulled him over to her face. This took him somewhat by surprise as it was so sudden. He couldn't help but notice the beautiful shape of her eyes, and exactly how close he was to her face.
"No funny business, got it Peace?" she whispered, almost silently as they sat in their positions, clearly she was defensive. Somehow this made him smirk yet again in amusement.
"Can't make any promises Langley." He said in return.
They heard a couple of Demitri's steps as he rounded each of the aisles, stepping on dropped popcorn. They even felt it as he walked right past the aisle behind them, brushing into Tara's hair. Warren knew his breathing had gotten deeper, his heart rate sped up as well, but he knew that they couldn't move until they knew her brother was gone. Not that he was complaining. He just didn't want to make Tara uncomfortable. He was just about to give into his thoughts, but decided to distract himself as a courtesy to her.
"Tara, is he gone?" Warren whispered after they'd stopped hearing footsteps.
"I, I don't know. Let me check." Tara whispered as she closed her eyes to concentrate. He figured she was using her telepathy to catch his thoughts. It took her a moment, and when she opened her eyes and looked at Warren. She just stared for the longest, seeming like she was lost.
"Well?" Warren asked her with curious eyes, wondering what she was thinking.
She opened her mouth as if she was going to answer but instead, she put her lips to his. It briefly startled him, he didn't think she would do it, and it was better than he could have ever thought of. Her lips were soft yet he could tell she was cautious. They smelled and tasted slightly of strawberry from her chapstick. Then, just as Tara was about to pull away, Warren put a hand behind her head to prolong the kiss. He put a bit more pressure on her lips, letting her know that it wasn't awkward. It was short and sweet, but he had to admit it felt like forever before they broke the kiss.
"No funny business huh?" Warren said smiling as they looked into each other's eyes. He was so glad he'd thought to ditch school
"I, I couldn't help myself." Tara said nervously with a smile, sounding slightly embarrassed by herself
"I didn't say I didn't like it Langley." He said as he went to kiss her again. He time he lifted up the arm rest between them and pulled her over to him, lifting her chin. The two were so lost in the moment that they didn't even notice the theatre worker who was making his way up the stairs with a flashlight.
"Excuse me?" The worker said, shining the light on them, and causing the two of them to jump. "If that is you're intention of being in this theatre, I'm going to have to ask you both to leave."
"Uh, okay." Tara said, quickly sitting back in her seat looking like a scolded child.
"C'mon then, lets go." Warren said standing up, a little upset that the man had interrupted. "You heard him."
Tara looked at Warren questioningly, but stood up with him. "Ok."
The two of them followed the guy out of the theatre and back to the main part of the mall. They made their way back through and ended up back at Warren's car.
"We're leaving?" Tara said confused.
"Yeah." He said brushing off the irritation from the usher's actions, "But we're going somewhere else. The mall is boring me."
"Where then?" She asked.
"You'll see." He said simply as he kissed her again before opening her door. He couldn't get over how good this day was. The kiss in the theatre was the only thing on his mind as he went around to the driver's side. This was definitely going to make things interesting…..