Disclaimer: I do not own Sky high (I simply wish I did, yup, I'm a wannabe)
Author's Notes: Annndd *drumroll* Here is chapter two! Scared you didn't i? hehe ^^'. The unexpected happened and I got very busy. But I managed to write this. Anyways, here you go! =)
The Paper Lantern was slowly getting empty as the people got up and left table by table. I sat waiting for Warren to come back, meanwhile thinking about how I would face school tomorrow. Does Will even know what happened? Of course not. Gwen would never tell him. So I'm supposed to keep this in the dark? Well, it's certainly better than having to face the awkwardness of him knowing my feelings. Ugh, damn it. Now how is this helping you clear your head, Layla?
"It doesn't, fool" my conscience cleverly chimed in.
"Oh, shut up. No one asked you" I answered out loud.
Great, now I'm talking to myself. I better stop.
"Finally going crazy, aren't we hippie? Not that you weren't mad before", I heard someone say next to me and I looked up to find Warren with a tray holding what looked like a bowl of soup and a plate of fried spring rolls. As he set the tray down in front of me, I noticed the red-orange flames tattooed on his forearm. It looked really nice, complementing his slightly tan skin.
"Eat up already, I didn't make this so you could just stare at it" he said getting impatient.
"You made this?" I asked, surprised. Then a small smile made its way to my lips as I continued, "Warren Peace can cook?"
"Don't look so surprised. After being in this place so long, I'm bound to pick up some skills. After all, who do you think feeds me when my mom's not around?" he answered. "Now for the last time, shut up and eat so you can tell me what's up." He took a seat opposite of me and watched me dig my fork into the fried spring rolls. I brought it up to my mouth and took a big bite. It was delicious!
"So," said Warren, eager. "Why were you crying? And don't tell me it's a long story. I have time."
I took a few seconds to swallow what was in my mouth, and proceeded to tell him the story.
"Well, I was just at my house and then I call Rosa, one of the girls in charge of the decorations for Homecoming to ask when she'll come get some of the stuff from my house, and there's all this noise in the background. I ask her where she is and she tells me there's a party at Will's and that she was invited by Gwen. So I decide to go check it out. Of course, I was shocked. It was unusual for Will to do something like this and not tell me about it. So I go, and before I can even go inside, Gwen meets me at the door and starts telling me how Will would be better off without me, and how he would never care about my feelings. Proof, he didn't even bother telling be about the party. So now what do I do? Does he even like me? Did he ever? Do I even still have a chance? What if I'm messing up our friendship forever?" I start rambling, "What if-"
"Take it easy hippie, slow down" Warren said, trying to calm me down. "So just because some self-absorbed bitch is saying things about you just because she's jealous, you turn out like this?" he asked.
"No, it's not just Gwen! Will didn't tell me about the party. Maybe he feels awkward around me now, or maybe I'm not good enough to be his friend anymore now that he's—"
"Shut up" Warren said pointedly ignoring my freakout. "Stronghold wasn't around, now was he?" I nodded, staring at my hands in my lap and playing with the napkin. "Then until you see him and ask him about it, you have no reason to go around crying and blowing things out of proportion. As for being an idiot and not letting you know he was throwing a party, he better have his reasons."
I looked up at him slightly surprised at how thoughtful and considerate he was being over the whole matter. Warren was actually not that scary, after all. That cold and dangerous air he gave off made anyone refrain from getting close. But once, you got under that, you discovered the kind of person he could really be; funny and sympathetic.
"Y-you're probably right" I stammered, still a bit taken aback by his kindness. "I'll talk to Will tomorrow and ask him about it."
"Yup, hippie. That's what you should do. Now finish up your soup while I finish up. I'll walk you home" he said, getting up.
"No, really it's okay! You don't have to. I can home perfectly fine." I hurriedly said.
He didn't say anything, fixing me with a sceptical look. I furrowed my brows questioningly and asked, "What?"
"I didn't ask you. I told you, hippie. God knows if you'll make it home this late, being the ignorant and crazy person that you are. You'll probably stop and talk to anything random creepy stranger you find at this hour or God knows what. You're capable" Warren said, shaking his head. "So finish up. We leave when I come back. And stop looking so damn depressing already. It's no fun pissing you off when you're not gonna react" he finished, walking away.
For the first time that night, I truly smiled.