Chapter Four: Confessions

Na-Na: I don't own Sky High. I mean, I do own a Sky High DVD, but uh yeah…Anyway, I'm still in love with Steven Strait. I always thought Johnny Depp was cool, but there was the fact he'd fall short of what I want in a man. But Steven, I love how deep he is, how funny and beautiful his personality is. And he's a musician! Ever since Arisa-san showed me Sky High, I fell swift and hard for him. Well, enough random of Steven-induced rants. On with the story.

The rest of the weekwas horribly uneventful.

Being the only one in my group of friends in hero class, I was always alone during most of the class periods. The only classes I had with anybody I knew were my elective class and PE. Those were the only classes that Heroes and sidekicks were allowed to mingle. Art was my elective class, and surprisingly enough, I had it with Zach. He'd always keep me company and put a smile on my face with some of the ridiculous things he'd sketch. He wasn't bad at art. His way of showing talent for the class was just a little... abstract. In PE, all of my friends were there. Will, Layla, Magenta, and Ethan would always greet me and Zach in front of the gym before we all went to our respective changing rooms. That always had to be the highlight of my day, since I'd always be so bored with my normal classes.

So pretty much the normal school schedule for me was Hero's Science, Hero's English, Hero's Alg. 2 Trig., P.R.E.P. (Power Responsibility Education Procedures) class, Basic Hero Skills, Lunch, History of Heroes, Art, and PE. The only drawbacks to P.E. were the fact it was Physical Education and that the most undesirable people seemed to end up in the class with us. I guess there would always be a drawback to good things.

But lately, I had been having a problem. Well, my problem was actually a person, to be more exact. And that person was, well that person was…

Warren Peace.

He would always glare at Will, during lunch, and that was normal for him. But, whenever he wasn't glaring at Will, he was…watching me. It was unnerving. He had such a strong gaze, and it would be focused on me. Usually I wouldn't check to see whether or not he was looking. I knew he was. Everyone would get nervous when he looked our way. Will would always scoot closer to me during lunch. He was always worried Warren would jump one of us one of these days to settle the score between our fathers. Even I stayed cautious when I knew he was around. If Warren Peace was as unpredictable and violent as the rumors went, then there would be a problem. I wasn't afraid of him hurting me. I was afraid of what he would do to Will.

But, him staring wasn't the only problem. It was his lack of glaring. He'd glare at Will, but when he turned his attention to me, the glare disappeared. Magenta had told me once that she had seen Warren looking at me as if he were studying me. For a while I didn't believe her until Zach and Ethan had said the same thing. I'd always pretend I didn't notice him watching me. Everyone was a tad bit worried, but I would try and tell them it was fine. All the while wringing my hands nervously in my lap, fiddling with my hair, or pretending to push the fake glasses created by my illusion back up on my nose.

The thing that made me feel the worst was that I enjoyed the attention on some level. The fact that he, the bad boy figure of Sky High, had his eyes on me, was something even if there wasn't a determined reason for it yet. I hated the fact that he made me want to seek his attention, the kind of attention I had been trying to hide myself from. Me, Tenni Stronghold, had a crush on Warren Peace. Someone was really trying to ruin my life making me like him. Never had I had a crush on someone before. It was different than anything else I had ever experienced in my life. Something in me would always flutter in his presence. And if I ever caught sight of him, I swear, there would be a stupid grin on my face. I would have to look down so no one saw.

What seemed to make this whole situation suck even worse was that he hated my adoptive father. To add more to the problem, he would never talk to anyone unless he was forced into the situation, and it would be likely that he'd find some way to burn whoever it was in the end. Not to mention the fact I hadn't even talked to him yet. All I've ever heard about him are rumors, and I don't even know what could be real and what was actually pure fiction about him. What was I supposed to believe in?

There was more to him though. It isn't just a skin deep shallow crush (Even though he is far more attractive than any other guy I've ever seen). I like him because he is mysterious and strong. His silence and cold, distant act only made me want to figure him out even more. Something in him reminded me of myself and called to me. I am determined to get to know him better. I didn't want to risk him hating me if I tried to approach this the wrong way. So I would wait until he talked to me. Then I would start there. I didn't need a relationship from him. All I wanted was acceptance from him. The only thing I could do now was secretly like him, and smile for him whenever our eyes meet.

Today had been like all the others. Depressingly enough was the fact that once again today had been terribly sunny. I didn't like the sun all too much since it hurt my eyes. Layla, Magenta, and I were in the locker room changing back into our normal clothes now that school was over for today. The other two girls were discussing the work they had to do for their Sidekick class so I was a bit left out of their conversation. I finished dressing before them and told them I'd wait near the boys' locker room since they'd probably be done dressing soon. In truth, I just needed to get out of the locker room since the smell of sweat and funky body sprays wasn't very appealing to my nose at the moment.

Once out, I grinned. Fresh air was a number one must have. I seemed out of place standing near the Boy's changing room. No, I didn't just seem out of place, I felt out of place too. It was really awkward because the boys leaving the room all gave me stares before heading off in a different direction. Sighing, I leaned on the wall that was near exit where the guys came out from. They all thought I must be some creepy nerd trying to spy on them. In all actuality, Will, Zach and Ethan took longer in the locker room than Magenta, Layla and I, so I'd be waiting here for a while. It was funny seeing as how males usually complained about how long it took for women to change or get ready. Not many people were out just yet. Most of the people who were out were some of the older students. Wasn't much surprise since they'd been at Sky High long enough to get used to changing faster than light.

Suddenly, something yanked at my hair. I looking around, I saw and striped arm slinking back into the locker room. Lash, I thought scowling. My head suddenly jerked to the left as I felt my hair being pulled again. Oww. What was his freaking problem? I was just standing here waiting for my brother and my friends. Another yank made me cry out in pain. I couldn't even defend myself because his arm was going too fast for me to catch. He was assaulting me from in the locker room. It wasn't like I could just waltz in and beat the shit out of him or even attempt to freeze him. I'd get into serious trouble.

I'm pretty sure I didn't deserve this kind of abuse. Lash was a total jerk, but his usual targets were only sidekicks. And I was a hero. But he still messed with me. Even now I was still refraining from using any powers. I wouldn't know where I was directing the water, so if I tried to attack him, I could possibly injure someone on accident because I didn't have a full visual of what I was doing. Whenever I tried to retaliate against his snakelike arm, it would always slip out of my grasp and back into the boys' locker room where I couldn't get it. Lash continued to tug at my hair and I tried to keep myself from giving him the pleasure of hearing me cry out in pain again. But it was still hard because the yanking seemed to be getting worse.

Suddenly, I heard a cry of pain and saw Lash and Speed race out of the locker room. To my surprise and deep pleasure, each of them were sporting singed clothing. Wait. Singed? How would their clothing be singed? Was there a fire in the boys' locker room or something? I looked back at the locker room door just in time to see the door swing open and out walked the person who saved me from my tormentors. My eyes grew wide with shock. It had been Warren who had chased them off. I stared at him like that for a while, still dumbstruck. When he started to walk off and I panicked. This was a chance I had been waiting for.

"Wait!" I called out to him. He stopped but didn't turn to look at me, "Thank you, for helping me."

He turned to me. Our eyes met and I gave him the smile I always wore when we looked at each other. He didn't smile, but he nodded, and then sauntered off to the bleachers. Sure, I know I should flatter myself by thinking he'd done it for me, but the fact I'd mustered the courage up to talk to him was making me feel so triumphant. Happiness coursed through me. I had talked to him!

After the bell rang and everyone was out of the locker room, we made our way to the usual bus and were greeted warmly by Ron. I took a seat next to Zach, Will and Layla were together behind us, and Ethan and Magenta were seated behind them. Zach and I chatted for a while, mostly him talking to me and cracking lame jokes while I stared out the window. He got serious all of a sudden.

"Hey Ten," he said quietly, tugging at my shoulder and looking around as if he were trying to make sure no one else was listening on the conversation.

"What?" I asked, "And don't call me Ten."

"I have a…um…problem." He finally admitted. I raised an eyebrow. "I have a crush on this girl, and…well, she doesn't like me the way I like her. She knows I like her too, but she refuses to listen to me about it. And she thinks I'm annoying, and that we're too different to make it work." Once Zach finished blurting all of it out, I smiled.

"It's Magenta, isn't it?" I said slyly watching him wiggle around uncomfortably.

"Yeah," he answered sighing dejectedly, "I really like her Ten. I've liked her since the beginning of school. Told her I liked her too, but she still doesn't even like me all too much, and she tries to ignore me. What am I supposed to do?"

"First, stop calling me Ten," I said, "And what to do. Well, maybe you were a bit too forward by telling her you liked her right away. Magenta doesn't seem to be the type of girl into cheesy romantics. So don't try doing any thing you see in those chick-flick movies. And also, try toning your behavior down a bit, Magenta's quiet, so you might scare her away if you're being too loud and obnoxious. Try starting to engage her in conversations she'll want to be apart of. You're both in Hero Support, so maybe you can try talking about classes first before moving into more serious conversation. Find things that the both of you enjoy talking about so that it'll be easy. I guess that's all the advice I can offer you for now."

I finally was able to take a breath. That was a lot of advice. Jeeze, I can't even have a proper conversation with the guy I like yet and I'm giving advice to someone on conversations. When I looked at Zach I almost laughed out loud. He was taking notes! Taking notes! On Crush Tips! When he noticed I was watching, he laughed nervously.

"Just incase I forget." Zach explained sheepishly, "So, uh, is there anyone you like?" I choked on my spit. Coughing, I tried to recover from his unexpected question.

"Um…y-y-yeah." I stuttered while blushing.

"Dude! Really?" Zach asked rather loudly earning some stares. Quietly, he repeated the question.

"Yeah." I answered.

"Who?" I jumped. Did I really want to tell Zach this?

"Why, I mean, it's not like you'd believe me."

"Oooh! Tell me! Tell me!" Aww crap, now he was getting excited. This wouldn't bode well, maybe I could just stall and not tell him until Will and I had to get off the bus. Suddenly, I felt someone tap me on the shoulder. It turned out to be Will. Thank God for distractions.

"Yeah?" I asked ignoring Zach.

"I'm inviting everyone over for studying Tenni. Just to let you know." Oh God, now I was stuck with Zach. That was so not the kind of distraction I would've wanted. He stared at me expectantly awaiting my answer.

"Fine, you win you overly nosey giant." I said huffing frustrated. I didn't plan on spending a whole afternoon with him trying to get it out of me. Best to just tell him and get over with it. "It's…It's…It's…" No, I change my mind I couldn't say it.

"If you don't tell me, I'll call you Ten for the rest of High school, and maybe longer." He threatened.

"Like that's much of a threat. I bet you would've done that anyway." I said to Zach.

"You're right. Now tell me." He said.

"His name is…You promise not to laugh, scream, get mad or tell anybody else right?"

"Yeah, why?" I leaned over so I could whisper it into his ear.

"It's Warren Peace."

Zach didn't talk to me for a while after I had told him that. He actually didn't really talk to anyone after that. All he did was look at me with the same shocked expression he had when I said it. I actually started to get worried when he wouldn't respond to anything. When Ron had made the stop at where he would drop me, Layla and Will at, all of us got off at the stop yet Zach was still unresponsive as we made our trek to Will's house and mine. Finally, he came back to the world of the living.

"You're serious?" he asked.

"Yeah. I just have this attraction to him. I'm not even bothered by the fact his father is Baron Battle." Seeing as my own Mama was a villain herself, I thought off-handedly. For a second, I imagined a really messed up scenario depicting what could've happened if instead of my parents dying, they'd lived and Mama had gone to jail and met Baron Battle. I felt a little sick imagining my mother falling in love with him and them getting married in jail and Warren and me becoming step-siblings. Shaking my head, I glanced sideways at Zach who looked like he was at a loss for words again.

"I-he…but…What about Will? Are you…sure?"

"Yeah. And Will…I'm not gonna tell him. He'd flip if I had a crush on the very guy who spends every moment he's around us glaring as if he wants to throw a fireball at our heads."

"Good point. Just be careful," Zach said as we reached my house. Why couldn't he be more serious all of the time?

Since I didn't have Hero Support with them, I couldn't really help out with their homework. So to keep myself occupied, I cleaned up the kitchen. I was so bored. Today we didn't get much homework for the Hero courses, and I had already finished what I had to do so I was stuck. What was I even thinking trying to finish my homework early? For what? Extra time for me? As if. I don't even have a life. My hobbies are cleaning and school. I couldn't even power down my illusion because the guys were here. It was at times like these I was sure that there was something wrong with me in my head.

Hearing the front door open distracted me from my self-abusive thoughts. I figured it must've been one of my friends leaving, but then I heard the conversation in the living room change. There was a new voice besides Will or the others. Popping my head out from the kitchen, I was surprised by the sight of Dad dressed in his costume. He was currently shaking hands with Magenta.

"I make a mean tuna fish salad sandwich. Anyone want one?" Dad asked looking around the room. Everyone gave him a quick "no" as an answer. The offer actually sounded appealing to me.

"Sure. I'd like one." I said loud enough to catch Dad's attention. At first, he didn't recognize me because of my illusion, but when he figured it out, he immediately turned on me with a big smile on his face. Ooh, boy, I was in for it.

"Hey Kiddo!" he exclaimed picking me up and lifting me high.

He let me back down after a couple of protests and complaints about it being embarrassing and kissed me on the forehead. I scowled, that was even worse than being picked up in the presence of your friends. Dad entered the kitchen leaving me with Will and co. Once he wasn't in hearing range, they all burst out laughing at Dad's display of affection. He'd been doing that a lot ever since he got the news I had gotten into Hero class. Will suddenly got a serious expression on his face. He got up from where he had been sitting and followed Dad into the kitchen. I decided to check out what was going on.

"Will will be back soon," I told Layla before entering the kitchen after Will. When I got there, they had already engaged in a somewhat casual conversation.

"Actually, they're all sidekicks." Will said. There was a long pause before Dad said anything.

"Good for you son," Dad said, "A kid of your stature hangin' out with a bunch of sidekicks. As a freshman? I didn't have the guts. And I can only imagine what your grandfather would have said if I'd have brought some of them home." Dad gave a short laugh at that.

"You know, there's nothing wrong with being a sidekick, Dad." Oh God, I knew where this conversation was going.

"Oh no," Dad said, "Of course not. I used to have one Will. Saved my life once too. Old-what's-his-name…"

"So you would be fine with…if I was a sidekick." Will said nervously.

"Well, yeah. Sure I guess," Dad said not really seeming to be paying attention, "Hey, hand me that mayonnaise there." Will handed Dad the jar of mayonnaise next to him on the counter.

"Well, that's good then because…because I am."

"Am what?"

"A sidekick."

"Who is?" This was bad.

"Me, Dad. Dad, I'm a sidekick, Okay? I washed out of Power Placement." I could hear the heartbreak in Will's voice as he said that.

There was a long pause. Dad turned to look at Will with his blue eyes trained on him. Cricket chirping and…

"WASHED OUT!" There it was. Dad was pissed. "Boomer." He muttered darkly. His fists smashed down onto the counter surface causing a jolt to go through the kitchen. Everything that wasn't secured jumped up for a second before clattering back down. The living room had gone quiet after the shockwave had gone through. Layla and the others must've heard the yelling.

"Couldn't make the big times so now he thinks he can pass judgement on some real heroes' kids huh? Oh, it's a power trip Will. That's all it is. Sonic Boom! Try 'Gym Teacher Man.'" I would have laughed at that had it not been for the seriousness of the matter. I panicked when I saw Dad grabbing a phone. Will did as well.

"No Dad! What are you doing!" Will yelled.

"I'm calling the school! The tuition we pay them!" Dad's fingers descended swift and angrily upon the phone repetitively and powerfully enough to break it in half.

"Dad, don't." Will said weakly, "Dad! It's not Coach Boomer! It's me okay? I don't have any powers!" I felt tears starting to form.

'Oh Will' I though sadly.

"But you never said…I mean, you made it seem like…" Dad started.

"Like I had super strength like you?" Will finished, "But I don't."

"But you will Will!" Dad reasoned walking over and gripping Will's shoulders. "You're just…You're just a late bloomer. That's what it is!" Dad sounded as if he were trying more to convince himself at the moment.

"Maybe. Maybe not," Will said brokenly, "But I don't care. Because really, the fact of the matter is I'm proud to be a sidekick." Will started to walk away before turning to face Dad again. "Actually, I'm proud to be hero support."

As Will passed me, I have him a quick hug, letting some tears slip. He smiled before heading back to studying with Layla and the others. I wiped my tears away before I walked up to Dad who was staring at the tuna fish salad sandwich in disbelief. Seeing as how it looked completed, I licked my lips and grabbed it. I took a big bite before heading to the dining table. Food was a great way to get over depression in my opinion.

"Kiddo?" Dad said to get my attention.

"Yes Dad?"

"Are you a sidekick, I mean, Hero Support too?" I rolled my eyes.

"No Dad. And there's nothing wrong with Will being in Hero Support." I said dismissing him so I could focus on the lovely sandwich in front of me.

"Just checking."

Na-Na: I really didn't like this chapter too much. My editor thought the part with Warren helping Tenni out was cute, but oh well...Anyway, yesterday was my Mum's birthday, so here's a little shout-out to her:

HAPPY 49th BIRTHDAY MUM! LOVE YOU!

Tenni: Actually, she sort of is like you. Well, the good things anyway.

Fuzzy Makes Me Happy: I understand what you mean. I'm glad you think this is going so well. But your advice with Lash, I think I may do that...

denyingblood: YAY! You really think my story is great! I wuv you. And I did the parent thing for Tenni so that she could be a little like Warren.

SmithysTrivia: When you put it that way, it's hard to argue. Opposites are really cool.

Ghostly Green: You're very welcome. I, agree, I love it when authors and authoresses update like that. I'm just trying the pacing myself out thing for the first time.

Arisa-san: A Zach/Warren showdown eh? Intresting. But I may not have Zach like her that way. Maybe he'll just get mad and overprotective of her with Warren...

Zacharee: O...Kay...Thanks for reviewing anyways.

(Also, to XmarksthespotX, the song you have quoted in you profile is called "I Can See Through You" by Truman. I like the song too!)

Next Update: Normal

Friday, January 20th