Chapter Eleven: Mall

Na-na: Don't own Sky High. I'm still distressed about not updating on time. It's just really disappointing to me, the fact I'm disappointing you guys, my readers. No amount of crying or bashing my head in a wall can change how bad I feel about it. It's just been so hard lately because of all of these new complications I've been having in my life. I'm trying to find time to write, but it's killing me. But I'm still not going to give up. I'll keep at this no matter what.

Turns out, Lash wasn't kidding. No, not one bit, you know, about the whole Knowing-Speed-Couldn't-Keep-A Secret thing. Everything he said was true. The whole school did end up knowing before school was out, much to my chagrin and Lash's delight. I have to admit Speed was pretty fast at getting word out to everyone, heroes and sidekicks alike. But who wouldn't expect that coming from Speed? He is gifted with the power of super speed.

Trust me when I tell you this was not a good thing. I regretted ever staying to listen to what Lash had said. I couldn't believe how stupid I had been! I just thought I'd give him a chance after what happened during that Save the Citizen game. But noooooo. He had to over step the boundary and pull something as stupid as making me his girlfriend! Well, fake girlfriend, but you get the idea. This is what I got for being nice to someone who was obviously a prick.

Well, things went awkwardly from the exact moment after the "Broom Closet" incident. I couldn't walk down the hall without hearing someone whispering something about me behind my back, or pointing and sneering or laughing, or having every person's accusing stares on me. It was pretty bad. Ignoring all the attention was probably the best thing I could do in the situation Lash had now put me in. If I was to show that any of this bothered me, it would ruin the plan and things might go from bad to worse.

But just because I was able to keep myself looking cool about this whole predicament, didn't mean I wasn't a nervous wreck about it on the inside. Being the overly emotional, sensitive, and shy person I am, this was really freaking me out. Just the thought of someone thinking badly of me was disturbing. I wasn't someone who'd bend under peer pressure, or follow fads, or take what people say very seriously, but still, it was the fact that anyone would say something like that behind my back was what bothered me. Not to mention the fact that even my friends were talking about me too.

I didn't even have to eavesdrop on them. I could tell just from the looks that they gave me that they disapproved of the relation they thought I had with Lash. There was no way I could blame them either. All of them had a bad opinion of Lash, especially Ethan and Zach who were usually on the receiving end of any of Lash's pranks. Dark muttering and shame filled glances from them were like fat slaps across my face in my opinion and I hated the feeling entirely. So I did the only thing I could to keep myself from having to deal with that problem.

I avoided them like the plague.

Didn't eat breakfast this morning because I didn't want an encounter with Will, and went straight from getting ready to the bus, armed with a Walkman and ear buds jammed into my ears, blasting jazz into eardrums and eyes closed pretty much keeping myself dead to the world until getting off the bus. From there, I used my skillful evasive techniques to run like hell away from my friends. My hiding place ended up being the library, since that place brought me quite a bit of solace. I ended up staying there so long, that when the librarian kicked me out of the library, I had already missed half of first period. With a grimace, I made a note to myself to remember that next time if I ever wanted to be late to Mad Science, make sure to leave an illusion to fool Medulla. He wasn't very pleased with my incredible tardiness.

Anyway, as things progressed, several more rumors began floating around school by lunchtime. People had heard about how I was late to class and all assumed I was making out with Lash somewhere since he happened to be missing from his class around the same time I had been. Coincidences could be evil things. Gossipy teenagers loved them though, since it just gave them more to talk about. So when I came to the lunchroom, everything went silent for a second, as if everyone needed to stop life and focus it around me, before pretending to ignore my presence. For once in my whole time at this school though, I didn't keep to my usual routine. I didn't scan the room for Layla. I didn't scan the room for Will. I especially didn't scan the room Warren. I'd probably fall apart if I took a look at him. He was probably sitting with most of the people I thought were my friends.

So naturally, there was only one person I could sit down next to at lunch, on this oh-so-wonderful Friday. Yeah, you guessed it, Lash. He was mildly surprised that I took the initiative and decided to sit with him, but offered the seat next to him graciously. To keep up appearances, he took hold of my hand over the table and we sat there, making small talk even if it was awkward sitting here at this near deserted table with him. I asked him about his classes, he asked about mine. When lunch ended I simply stood up and begun to walk away. But before I could escape, Lash stood as well stretched his arm to grab mine and pulled me into an embrace.

I could barely hear what he was saying, but I managed to catch a little:

"Thank you, Love. You're doing great."

After kissing my forehead, he pulled away, and both of us were actually blushing. He had kissed me! On the forehead… I didn't know why he was blushing, I was the one being publically embarrassed by him. Brushed it off, I just went to my next class.

Class was over and I was relieved. As much as I liked school, today had been far too unpleasant, and almost enough to make me want to just skip the day. To be honest, I considered it more than several times. The only reason I actually made it through today, and I hate to admit this, even to myself, was because of that nice little moment with Lash. He actually made things bearable for me today, unlike other times we had been with each other. And I knew I deserved the good treatment because he was the one who got me into this stupid situation.

I was now slumped against the wall next to the gym door, watching the clock wondering if it could tick any slower. My bag lay dejectedly on the floor next to me where I had discarded it. People continued to go in and out of the locker rooms, but I paid them no attention. It wasn't like I was waiting for anyone in particular today. Unfortunately, I couldn't stop myself from looking up when I saw someone tall wearing black exit the boys' locker room from the corner of my eye. Silently, I watched from the side as Warren went to lean on the wall near the stands.

It hurt me to watch him like that. He always had this sort of air around him that said, "Don't come close." Inside me, I always felt a tug telling me to go over there and talk to him, regardless of that hostile signal he gave off. Sometimes I did, but I couldn't anymore, because if I did, my heart would break. My need to be alone was greater than my need to break his loneliness. So I watched him from afar, ignoring the sound of my heart wrenching tighter and tighter. My watching without being noticed was abruptly stopped when his head rose and his eyes locked onto mine.

Immediately, I froze, not knowing what to do. It was hard to keep staring at those eyes, but even harder to pull away. His eyes relayed strange emotions to me. Confusion, annoyance, sadness, anger— it was a wide array all at once, making it hard for me to understand what he was trying to tell me. For a second, I wondered why I couldn't tell what he was thinking. Duh, wasn't born psychic. Of course I couldn't. Brushing the thought off, I just continued to stare for a little while, reflecting my own sadness and confusion back at him. After a while, the corners of my lips lifted slightly, forming a feeble, melancholy smile, unlike the usual vibrant ones I'd been giving him ever since the first day of school.

I think something happened, well in Warren's mind anyway. My smile seemed to motivate Warren into action. Pushing off from the wall he had been propped against during our little stare-off, he began walking in my direction. My fight or flight instincts were flashing. A million thoughts ran through my mind at that second, the main one screaming, "Get the hell off your ass and run!" I imagine that I probably would've done so without out much hesitation but something else beat me to doing so.

"TENNI!"

A loud call of my name caught my attention right when the bell signaling the end of the school went off. Momentarily distracted, I forgot about Warren approaching me as my head swerved around trying to find who had called out my name. My eyes fell on the sight of Magenta and Layla heading in my direction, both girls looking really excited. Layla waved energetically while Magenta gave me a wide smile. I was about to raise my hand and wave back when I felt a pair of large hands lock onto my shoulders. Letting out a little gasp, my head snapped back in front of me. I found myself staring up into those onyx eyes I had been staring at so intently from across the room. The only difference now was that those eyes were less than a foot away from mine.

"Warren!" I squeaked as my legs gave way underneath me. I sunk to the floor, Warren's hands slipping off my shoulders in the process. But my eyes never left his as they continued to stare back up in horror. For a second, a concerned look appeared on his face. Warren was about to say something when Layla and Magenta got there.

"Tenni!" Layla exclaimed as she pushed past a crowd of people leaving the gym. Her eyes were on me for a moment before they flitted over to Warren, who was now at loss for words, "Warren?"

"Hey, Ten, you're still coming with us to the mall today," Magenta said in a "no nonsense" fashion. Of course, now that Magenta was hanging out with Zach, he had to start rubbing off on her in the worst way possible. I gave her a small warning glare; not even Magenta could get away with using that stupid nickname.

"I forgot about it," I mumbled out, "I don't think it's is such a good idea, I have to get home and do my homework." Magenta gave a snort.

"Homework?" She said, " Knowing you Ten, you had your homework done before the end of fifth period. Besides, I don't think you have anything to do tonight. I highly doubt you've got a date with Lash planned for this evening." I violently twitched at that. Once for when she used the nickname and twice when she brought up me dating Lash. I had completely forgotten Warren and Layla were standing right next to me, I was too mad.

"It isn't a crime to finish my homework early," I managed to get that out calmly while standing up, "And I'd like it if you'd stop calling me Ten." Magenta just gave a small smile.

"Of course. But you're still coming to the mall with me and Layla." I glanced at Layla and she gave me a small apologetic smile. I guess she was dragged into this too. It was then that I remembered that Warren was still standing next to me.

"Well, how about we get going then, might as well get it over with, the buses won't wait long for us to get there."

With that, I grabbed both Layla's and Magenta's wrists and dragged them with me out the exit door. I paused for second just as I passed through the door, and looked over my shoulder at Warren. He stared back at me with a disappointed look, making me feel a bit guilty. I never gave him a chance to say what he was going to say, whatever it may have been. But I couldn't. I couldn't let myself fall into him again like I did the night he came to apologize to me. He was with Layla and I would not interfere no matter how much I disliked the coupling.

We ended up getting off the bus at Magenta's house first (more like a mansion). I made sure to get off without much trouble (A.K.A. Getting interrogated by Will as to where I was going), and right when we got inside, I asked where the phone was so I could call my parents. She just pointed me in the right direction while she and Layla were putting our bags up in her room. Once I found the phone, I picked it up and called Mom's cell. When she picked up, the sounds of crashing and banging went off on the other line.

"Hello, Josie Stronghold, speaking. Who is this?"

"Hi Mom, it's Tenni," I answered, "Sorry for calling you while you're at "work"."

"Don't worry, Hun, I can talk," I heard the sound of swooshing and then I heard Mom call over her shoulder, "—HONEY! CAN YOU TAKE OVER? ONE OF THE KIDS IS CALLING!"

"Yes, what was it you needed to say? —THROW THAT BIG PIECE OF ASPHAULT! THROW IT, HIT THE TWO TENTACLES ON THE LEFT—!"

"You know Magenta, right?" I asked ignoring the sound of Mom yelling about tentacles.

"Yes, your shape-shifting friend right? —HUN! THAT'S NOT GOING TO WORK! AIM FOR THE ABDOMEN! THE ABDOMEN!"

"Uh…Yeah," I answered a bit freaked for a second, "She invited me to go to the mall. Can I go? I know it's a little last minute, but she really wants me to go with her."

"Well of course you can go, Tenni. Will you be buying anything? I can fly some money over to you just incase you need it."

"No Mom, I'll be fine. Thank you anyway. We'll be back home before, ten, okay?"

"Okay, see you home, Hun." Click. Call end.

"Hey? You done? My butler's offered to drive us there."

I turned around to see Magenta standing there impatiently with a hand on her hip. Layla stood next to her, openly gaping at the enormity that was Magenta's house. I gave a short nod and with that she led us back out of the house and to the car where her butler, a young looking man whose nametag read Kevin, opened the limo door for us to climb in, before getting himself in as well and starting the engine.

The drive took more or less 10 minutes. I managed to talk a little to Magenta, though we stayed off of the major taboo subjects, which were in my mind:

1. Warren Peace

2. Will Stronghold

3. Lash Andrewson

4. Zach Braun

I had to thank God (If he actually was up there o-0) for the fact that Magenta had not been prone to talk about them. In the past week, all of them had managed to piss me off, confuse me to hell, and make me feel miserable and I didn't need someone to pry into my mind to see how annoyed I was at the thought of them. After 5 minutes of the limo drive though, my pissy attitude was literally blown away. Magenta, being cool like she was, suggested that we open up the door thing on the roof and go outside of it. Layla and I, both being very reluctant, tried to say no but before long, she had us up there screaming,

"I AM THE QUEEN OF THE ROAD!"

All at the same time. Once we got into the mall though, it was like all restraints were let loose. All that mattered was I having fun with my two only girl friends. And it was cool, because this was sort of my first girls' night out sort of thing. Sure, it wasn't like we'd be out partying all night, but this was like the only time I had ever spent just being a girl. Not alone with a book, cleaning the kitchen or bathroom, or hanging out with Will and the parents. It was amazing.

For the first bit of being at the mall, there had been many things I really kind of liked. And some things that Layla and Magenta were very insistent about me getting since they said they said would look, "hot", on me. God forbid. But I had to admit, I wanted them, but I felt guilty about the fact Magenta was paying for everything we were buying. But she reassured me, and said she was buying it for me because she wanted me to have the stuff. So I let her only buy what she wanted me to have, or what I thought wasn't too pricey. In the end of our shopping spree, we each had several full bags, me having the most.

Our last stop before we left the mall, Magenta said, would be a surprise. She was correct about that. You should've seen the look on Layla's face, as well as the one on mine. Of course, I saw them in the mirrors and we looked pretty damn shocked. Not that I blamed us, because Magenta had just dragged us into a store called, and seriously, it was a dumb name, "Look Your Best For the Dance". As far as the eye could see into that store, there were only hanger racks, mannequins, and of course, many, many dresses on them.

I gaped at all of the beautiful dresses in there wondering what could've possessed Magenta to bring us here. And that's when I remembered. Homecoming dance was coming. And I was going. With a date. Which meant one thing: I needed a dress. I let out a strangled groan. Looking to Layla, my hopes of escape were dashed when I saw her looking at the dresses longingly.

"Layla," I whined pathetically, starting to feel tired from all the shopping we just did. She just gave me a sympathetic look before bounding off to find a dress.

"Well, looks like Layla doesn't need any pushing," Magenta said watching Layla zip from rack to rack looking for her ideal dress. Then she turned on me, "But I think you do." Gulping, feeling defeated, I allowed her to drag me to the changing room.

Things went in a pattern. Magenta threw me a dress from the other side of the door and I tried it on. Once I had it on, I walked out and let her judge on whether or not it looked good and suited me. If it didn't, I'd go back in and let her pick a new one for me to try on and judge. Sounds simple enough, right? The only problem really was that all of the dress Magenta had handed to me didn't look good. And I agreed with her. We had tried a couple grays and silver one to go with my eyes, but they were too flashy. All the blue and black ones were either too big or kind of ugly looking. While I started trying on a pretty looking white dress, Magenta started asking me questions about Lash.

"Hey, Tenni, how did you and Lash hook up?"

"Why do you want to know?" I asked defensively.

"Oh, I don't know. It seems kind of weird, he always picked on you and stuff, I figured you hated him."

"I did. But when he asked me out, I kind of felt that I couldn't refuse." This was technically true. I was forced into the relationship, but I'd never tell anyone that.

"But seriously! Lash? Come on Tenni, you don't seem like the girl to like someone like Lash."

"I know…But it's okay. I really don't like him like him. I'm sort of just giving him a try since he was really desperate for me to go out with him. Besides, the guy I like would never feel the same way towards me. He doesn't like talking to me, or me hanging out with him even though I try and be there for him. Lash really seems to appreciate me." For a second, I kind of felt shocked I had let those words slip out to Magenta. I didn't know if I wanted her knowing this.

"Oh man," I heard Magenta say, "You're in love with this jerk even though you're dating another jerk." My face flushed when she said that.

"I'm not in love with him. It's just a little crush," I mumbled, still blushing, "And they are not jerks. His life is complicated. He needs his space. He's even got himself a girl. Besides, who knows? It could work with Lash." I knew I was lying. I would never try and continue this relationship with Lash willingly.When I heard Magenta snort, I could tell Magenta knew too.

"You so are in love with him. Even though I probably don't know him, he's stupid if he doesn't like you though. You care about him even though he's insensitive. You're like a saint Tenni; you're so trusting and likeable. You've even forgiven Lash, of all people. You've gotta be selfish though, for once. Dump Lash and tell this guy how you feel. It doesn't have to be today, but some day," Magenta said indignantly.

Wow, once again, that was themost I had ever heard come out of Magenta's mouth, not to mention the most passionate thing she had ever said to me. I decided to take those words to heart some day. When I felt I had the dress on right, I stepped outside to see what she thought of it. I saw Magenta looking at Layla. It was when I saw that Layla was in a dress. I let a small gasp. Layla looked beautiful! It was bright green and tied around the waist with gold string looking thing. It's whole all-together look said "Simple, yet elegant." Not to mention it went well with her hair and matched her eyes.

"Wow, you look great Layla!" I exclaimed. Both Magenta's and Layla's heads swung around in my direction. When they caught sight of me, their jaws dropped. For a second, I though it was because some guy was dancing in the nude behind me, but when I checked and saw nothing behind me, I finally came to the conclusion that they were looking at me.

"What?" I asked, a blush forming on my face. Large grins spread across the two girls' faces.

"You look beautiful Tenni," Layla said, making my blush go redder.

Looking at the full-body mirror, I gulped down a squeal. Even with my illusion on, the dress looked magnificent. The dress was a spaghetti-strapped white one, showing off my very delicate looking shoulders. The part of the dress that was from my chest to my waist was made up of sleek, tight material that hugged my body nicely. From the waist down, the dress's material was a sort of flow-y looking all the way down to about and inch past my knees. There was a small silver brooch in the middle that was plain, and snowflake shaped. With the right hair do and accessories, I'd look stunning. The thought of looking like this at Homecoming made me even more embarrassed.

"Well, now that your guys' dress situation is settled, since Homecoming is in a week and I know both of you have dates," Magenta said. Not the guy I want though, I thought ruefully, glancing at Layla, Lucky.

"It's seven-thirty now, so we could go get some takeout and eat it at my house before Tenni needs to go home. How about it?" I nodded in my approval of the plan. Layla's eyes lit up.

"I have the perfect place to go to!" She cried out.

Na-Na: I apologize again. I'm sorry guys for being soooooooo lame and late. A lot of things have been happening for me lately. Schools been getting rougher due to State Testing, homework, Dodgeball, Archery and Fencing Club, Student Council, and tutoring (My math grades suck). In about a week, my family is going to be moving, meaning that I may have even less time to work on writing. So this is basically my plea to all of you to be patient with me. I'm trying. Things are difficult because I need to juggle, but don't worry!

RIP MuM i love you so much: I'm glad that you found it funny. I kind of laughed at it too!

Mariah Mercer: Wow! This was the best yet? That's so cool!

batbones: Sorry about not being quick with the update. I thought the ending part was the funniest too.

Devoted Reader: I like your name. Has a nice sort of feeling about. But I have to apologize for not updating soon enough. I hope this chapter was what you were looking for.

Tenni: True. Very true. I think Tenni will find out eventually though.

Sasha: Oh, you are too kind! I'll never stop this story for good. And don't give up hope. Warren's got a very good chance for being who she ends up with. After all, she is inlove with him.

Arisa-san: But-but, I deserve to beat myself up about it! I'm a terrible author! I haven't even finished my other stories! I just hope that this story is good enough. I'm so idiotic that there are some bad parts.

RaevenMoon: Thanks for not hating me. Hope this cahpter was good.

Swamp Mongerer: Yeah,that is pretty lame. But she was just thinking about her friend. Don't dis Warren. He just has issues compared to Lash.

Nelle07: Yes, isn't teenage drama the best? Hope this makes the plot thicker!

SmithysTrivia: That's good. And Ithink her dating Lash was a twist. I mean, it does make things a bit more complicated now huh?

Fuzzy Makes Me Happy: Blushes Aww, thanks for being for nice and understanding. There'll be more Warren in the next chapter. Magic? I'm magic? Cool.

Tanith: Nice to know you like my style. Glad to know I'm doing something right. Lash is okay, but I really like Warren. Love, love,love!--Me

honeyduck: Thanks, it's good to have a great story.

ROwned: Hey! Good to see you reviewing! Glad I passed your test. Kind of confuzzled me at first but whatever.

stevenstraitrawks: I. LOVE. YOUR. NAME! I love Steven more though, no offense. Lovely, huh? Nice you think so highly of my story. Grins

Next Update: Takeout

Will be posted when I can post it.