A/N: Started a little late but late is my happy hour... in other words, it's when my brain expands and has great ideas. I'm sorry about the weirdness of the recent chapter, I'll try to get back on topic a bit but since I never have a plan for my stories, anything can happen by the end of this chapter. Enjoy.

Layla's eyes fluttered open. She expected to see her bright and colorful room surrounded by her beautiful plants wishing her a good morning. So, she was surprised to be somewhere entirely different starting with the fact that it was dark and the room was awfully warm.

She then started to remember the events from last night. She closed her eyes and let herself fall back into the bed. Just as quickly, This is Warren's bed! I'm in a boy's bed and that boy is Warren! What was I thinking? I should be out on the couch. Speaking of couch... I wonder where Warren's sleeping. She pulled the covers from herself and walked quietly out of the dark room. She took slow, hesitant steps going down the stairs, making sure not to make too much noise.

She walked past the clock and took a quick glance at it, 5:28 a.m. I guess I'm so used to waking up at this time for school that it's a force of habit. And either way, I'd be an hour late by now. She thought randomly as she tip toed into the living room. She glanced over the couch. Warren was staring right at her.

"Oh! Gosh!" She shouted in a whisper as she jumped back a few feet. She clutched at her heart and tried to breath evenly, "You scared me!" She hissed.

"Why are you awake so early?" He asked, ignoring her rants.

"Why are you awake so early?" She countered.

"I don't sleep." He said as he sat up in the couch.

"That explains why your always so murderous." She said as she walked into the kitchen and opened the fridge.

"You're funny." He said, voice cold as always, "Answer my question."

"I don't know. I guess I'm just used to getting up at this time to do yoga with my mom before school." She pulled out a carton of eggs and put it on the counter.

"What are you doing?" Warren asked as he got up from the couch and walked over to the kitchen.

"Breakfast. Want some?" She asked as she searched for the plates.

"Top pantry." He said simply.

"Thanks." She said as she pulled out the necessary things to make scrambled eggs and pancakes.

There was an awkward silence as she made their breakfast and even when they started to eat. She was thinking of things to say when her phone started vibrating somewhere. She listened carefully and heard it coming from the coffee table in the living room. Not feeling the need to say 'excuse me' to Warren, she got up and picked it up, not bothering to look at caller id. She walked back to the kitchen absentmindedly.

"Hello?" She answered curiously.

"Layla, what the hell? Where are you? I'm waiting at the bus stop for you." Came Will's voice, as if nothing ever happened.

"Will? Wait, you didn't get suspended?" She asked, suddenly very alert.

Warren then faced her, interested in what was going on.

"No. Wait, you did?" He asked in disbelief, "But that's impossible! None of us did, not even Peace." He explained.

Layla glanced at Warren with an expression that would mirror confusion and hurt, "I don't understand. Last night I got a message from Principal Powers saying that I was suspended for the remainder of the week. If you guys weren't suspended then I shouldn't have been suspended either. Something strange is going on here... I'll talk to you later, Will." She snapped her phone shut.

"Will wasn't suspended?" Warren asked.

"No. And neither were you." She asked as she tried to piece things together, "I don't understand."

"Maybe you should just go to school and find out." Warren said as he finished his breakfast.

"Yeah, you're right." She headed toward the stairs but suddenly stopped and faced back toward Warren. Her face looked as it had when Will told her the news.

"What?" He asked.

"I don't have any clothes or my book bag. Nothing." She thought about something for a few seconds, "You wouldn't happen to know where Magenta lives, right?" She tried.

"You're joking, right?" He asked with a scoff.

"Yeah, I thought so. What am I going to do? I can't go to school in your clothes, what will everybody think?"

"It doesn't matter what everybody thinks." Warren said simply, "I'm going ahead and say you're screwed."

"Gee, thanks for the support, Warren." She rolled her eyes.

"Go do what you normally do before going to school. Don't take your time." He said before going up stairs.

"But..." She decided not to make him angry so early in the morning so she went and did her normal routine. Relieve bladder, brush teeth, wash face, comb hair and style her curls nicely, decent make up, put on last nights earrings and finally walk out of the bathroom.

Warren walked back upstairs, "Here." He said, shoving clothes into her hands, "This time, you have no choice."

"Weren't you upstairs already?" She asked, ignoring his statement.

"I'm good like that, now move, it's my bathroom." He said as he pulled her out the doorway and closed the door when he stepped in.

Layla walked into his room and closed the door, making sure to lock it. She removed her... his clothes and glanced at the clothes he had given her.

"No way." She said in disbelief, "Does he honestly think I'm wearing this?" She said as she gaped at the short shorts and tight tank top that read 'recycle your homework'. She glanced at the clock, 7:30 a.m. "Dang!" She hissed as she shimmied into the jean shorts that were only a little tight going up the hips. She pulled the shirt on and glared at herself. The shirt hugged her torso tightly, outlining every inch of her being as did the shorts. She was slightly grateful that the shirt was light green with a cute planet on the center.

She poked her head out of Warren's room and made sure he was out of the bathroom and somewhere else before running across the hall and into the bathroom once more. She searched for her black flats and pulled them on quickly. She put on some lip gloss and put it in her pocket.

With a sigh, she walked downstairs to meet Warren. He opened his mouth to say something but Layla wouldn't allow it, "Not a word about how I look. I'm serious." She hissed.

"Okay, then I won't say that you don't look bad and that it suits you." He said before quickly making an escape from the house. He walked out to his motorcycle and got on it. He waited for Layla to get there.

"I'm not riding on that anymore. It's terrifying." She said.

"Suit yourself." He quickly turned it on and raced out of the driveway and down the road.

Layla panicked, "Wait, wait! No, wait!" She called out as she ran after him quickly. He didn't stop. "Warren! Stop the damned motorcycle!" She screeched. Only then did Warren stop. She caught up to him and punched his arm as hard as she could. He didn't even flinch.

"Ow." He said simply before handing her the helmet. "Hang on." He said before racing down the street.

"Slow down!" She yelled over the roaring engine.

"Sure, if you want to crash. I need the speed to take off, Hippie."

Her heart warmed up when he called her that. She smiled to herself and remained quiet the rest of the trip to Sky High. Warren parked his bike where he always hid it and helped Layla off.

"Remember, it doesn't matter what anyone says or thinks." Warren said before walking away. She smiled at his words. He could be a nice guy in a weird way. It's the first time they would be apart for long since he picked her up. She wouldn't see him until the end of the day since he was a grade higher than her.

"To the office, Layla Williams." Layla said to herself. She took a deep breath and walked toward the school. Half way up the stairs she spotted Gwen who spotted her.

"Layla? What are you doing here? I thought you were suspended." She said as she walked over from her friends to Layla, "And what on earth are you wearing? It's a little too skimpy for you, don't you think?" She said with her sleazy tone.

Layla ignored her last comment and just kept what Warren said in mind, "How'd you know I was suspended?" She asked cautiously. She watched every movement on Gwen's face. She looked like she was searching for an answer.

"Will told me." She said simply, "Anyway, I'll see you around, Lay." She said, faking a friendly tone. She walked away and Layla glared holes into her back.

"Will didn't know I was suspended. He said I wasn't suspended at all, Gwen. What are you playing here?" Layla said to herself before walking into the school.

Just as she had feared, all eyes were on her. Some even looked hungry. She felt so exposed right now. She walked into her first class, not bothering to go to the office. Besides, she was already 10 minutes late. As soon as she walked in she walked straight to the teacher.

"I'm sorry I'm late, sir. There were some misunderstandings and one thing led to another. Also, I was locked out of my house last night and as you may know my mom is out in Africa so I don't have my book bag at hand." Layla said in the sweetest voice she had ever used in her life.

The teacher eyed her suspiciously, "Had it been another student, I would have sent you to the office. Knowing your an excellent student and that your mom really is in Africa, I'll let you stay. Here is an empty notebook, you can write things down in there. Just make sure to pass your notes to their rightful notebooks for tomorrow. Take your seat." He said before turning back to the blackboard.

"Thank you," She said as she turned around. She froze, all eyes were on her. Hadn't it been for Magenta waving at her, she would've fainted. Layla walked over to her best friend with her head held low. She took her seat next to her and hung her head.

"Spill. I want to know everything." Magenta whispered to her friend.

"Wait, what are we doing today?" Layla asked as she put on her protector goggles and the gloves.

"We're making a solution that would help us escape a trap... something like that. Here are the notes, now tell me what happened. Why were you late and what the hell are you wearing?" She whispered.

Layla started to write down the notes with a pen Magenta handed her, "When I got home, mom had left to Africa for God knows what, she moved my ivy from my room so I couldn't use it to get it, it started to rain, I went to the Paper Lantern, Warren was there, I ran away, he caught me, I was scared and miserable, he took me to his place, I got a message from Principal Powers that I was suspended, this morning Will called, you can talk about that later. He told me that neither Warren or him were suspended. Warren said I should come here anyway and on my way here, I ran into Gwen and we had a little chat and all in all I think she has to do with something somehow." Layla said, still concentrating on writing down Magenta's notes.

Magenta had been following the steps the teacher was giving out all the while listening. Something made a reaction and the solution made the glass explode, sending pieces everywhere. Layla and Magenta ducked under the desk along with the students nearby. The teacher spun around and hurried toward them.

"What happened?" He asked as he tried to wipe up the liquid with a few cloths quickly.

"I don't know! I was doing everything the way you were saying!" Magenta said from under the desk.

"Maybe but your wearing a silver bracelet which I specifically told you to take off before Ms. Williams came in." He said as she came up from under the desk.

"Oh." Was all she could say.

The teacher shook his head, "Are you two alright?" He asked.

Magenta and Layla searched themselves and were surprised to see shards of glass in their skin. Magenta had shards in her hands and Layla had shards in her right arm. The teacher spotted this and sent them to the nurses office.

"Well, at least we can talk now." Magenta said casually as she watched out not to hit anything with her hands.

"Yeah..." Layla said absentmindedly.

"So you spent the night at Warren's? What was that like?" Magenta asked as she wiggled her eyebrows at Layla.

"Terrifying. He was colder than usual and I wasn't having the best day either to begin with." Layla said. She didn't find it necessary to mention the good moments they had last night.

"I can imagine. So Will called you like nothing had ever happened?" She asked her second question.

"Yeah, remind me to talk to him about that later." Layla nearly hissed.

"Obviously that upset you." Magenta said as they turned into another hall.

"Yeah... So how's Zach?" Layla asked, changing the subject from herself.

Magenta scoffed, "Better than ever. That small confrontation with Warren yesterday has him all riled up. He claims that he stood up to Warren Peace and he could've taken him on hadn't it been for Will stepping in. Now he's spending every minute of the day arguing with Ethan over how he would beat Warren Peace in a fight when all he can do is glow in the dark. And you know how Zach is, he isn't going to give up until it comes out in the school's yearbook." She said, taking in her normal bored tone.

"Wow, I'm glad to hear that... sort of." Layla said with a smile.

"Yeah... so what's with the clothes?" She asked as she gave Layla a quick once over.

"It's all Warren had. Don't ask who it belonged to, he didn't tell me." Layla lied.

"Well, it doesn't look bad. It's not your usual style... which is good, you know? I mean, it's not like you don't have the body to pull that look off." Magenta said, hoping she could get Layla out of her usual hideous clothes.

Layla caught on to that, "Keep dreaming, Punk." She said before opening the door to the nurses office, "Wow, this really hurts." She finally said.

"Yeah, I know. There are moments like these that I'm relieved I'm a sidekick. Heroes are always getting into this kind of crap." Magenta said with a chuckle.

"Watch your language, young lady." The nurse said as she popped out of no where.

"Sorry," Magenta said as she rolled her eyes at Layla. Layla hid her smile. "So we have these pieces of glass in here. Think you can pull them out?" Magenta said as she and Layla showed their bleeding wounds.

"Of course, it's nothing too deep." She said as she searched for her equipment, "Oh but this one right here may require a stitch or two... and this one too." She said pointing at Layla's arm first, then Magenta's.

"Go figure." Magenta said with a sigh. The nurse started on her first so to distract herself, she started talking to Layla, "So, why do you think the skank is behind all this?" She asked.

The nurse pulled a shard out quickly as a warning of her language, "Ouch! Sorry." Magenta hissed.

"Well, I don't know. Something about what she said this morning just made me think so. Is that weird?"

"No."

"Well, she knew about my suspension and when I asked how she knew, she said Will had told her. Will didn't know about that call. The only one that knew was Warren and me. And I don't know how the teachers and Principal Powers knows mom is in Africa. I don't even know how or why she went to Africa in the first place." Layla said, piecing things together.

"Alright, I'm going to sow this a little. It's going to hurt a little." The nurse announced.

Layla offered her hand to Magenta who took it quickly. The nurse did her job quickly and Magenta only winced once. Layla was up next.

"Well, that's a little confusing. I think we should talk about this with the guys at lunch time. Just to see what they think of this because honestly, I don't know what to think other than she kidnapped your mom, broke into your house and locked you out, faked a call as Principal Powers and said you were suspended to keep you away from Will since she probably noticed he was getting jealous of you. I don't think she knows about Warren because she would've done something about him too. So, at least you have a scary pyro on your side. That is, if he decides to ever talk to you again. But all that sounds too far fetched." Magenta said.

Layla wanted to laugh but she thought about it, "You know, as crazy as it sounds, it's possible and if nothing else comes up, that had to be it. But how in the world would she be able to kidnap my mother? She's just a teenage girl like you and I." Layla said.

"Maybe she didn't kidnap her. Maybe she tricked her into going on that trip. She's good at that sort of thing, you know." Magenta said, "Man, I'm on a roll here! From here, I'll be leveling up to partner instead of sidekick... cause you know, partners are equal and one isn't higher than the other." She explained.

Layla laughed at her friend, "Thanks, I needed to laugh, Maj."

"What are friends for, Mother Nature?" She said with a smile and a wink.

"Alright, you're all done with the stitches." The nurse announced again.

"Really? Are you sure? I didn't feel a thing."

"Yes, and you had two more points than your friend too. When your mind is off of the pain and such, you don't feel anything. Pain is a mental thing." The nurse said as she cleaned off the blood from their arms, "Wear some gauges with a band-aid to stop the bleeding. You can take them off by the end of the day but not the one with the stitches, you must put some fresh gauges on."

"Alright, thanks." Magenta said as she followed Layla out after grabbing her book bag, "That wasn't so bad."

"I guess not. What's our next class now?" Layla asked.

"Class with Mr. Boy. How exciting!" Magenta said sarcastically as they walked to the classroom.

Class with Mr. Boy seemed to drag on forever but it was the only class Magenta and Layla had with Ethan and Zach so they just talked the class away. Layla filled them in on everything she had told Magenta in the nurses office. Surprisingly Zach had suggested the same thing Magenta had which bought up a conversation between them. Layla and Ethan were sure than Zach was enjoying that very much so they didn't want to interrupt.

Layla decided to ask Ethan about that girl that had asked him to dance with her. He said she was nicer than he thought since she was a cheerleader. He was excited to tell her that the cheerleader was also a sidekick just like him. Layla interrupted him and corrected his choice of words for what they were. She made him change 'sidekick' for 'hero support' like the Principal had officially stated.

Finally the class ended and they were off to the next class which went on as the previous one. The next went on the same until they reached class with Mr. Boomer. The class Layla shared with Will and only Will. No Magenta, no Zach, no Ethan. Just her and Will.

"Hey, Layla!" Will called to her as he walked over.

Layla fought with herself to not sigh, "Hey, Will." She said with a smile. She wouldn't admit it but she wanted nothing more than to be best friends with Will like they were before he broke up with her and if he was going to allow it, Layla wasn't going to hold a grudge. She would be the better person.

"Nice outfit. It's different." He said as he stared at her body. Layla's face went red with anger as the memory of what he had said the day he broke up with her.

"Yeah." She restrained herself to saying. She also managed to force a smile.

"So Gwen told me that your mom is in Africa. What's that all about?" He asked as coach Boomer lined them up for today's activity.

"I don't know. It was a last minute thing and she won't be back for about a month." Layla said casually, trying to be friendly like she was before.

"Whoa, she let you stay at home alone?" He asked in surprise.

"Yep." Layla said as she started to jog like the coach instructed.

Will jogged by her side, "So about that suspension thing, what happened?" He asked.

"Oh about that- Whoa!" She yelled as an obstacle shot up from the ground and she had to jump over. She barely made it as she had to stumble a few feet to regain her composure.

"Nice jump. So about that?" He pressed on.

"Oh yeah... I-" A tall brick wall popped up and the student on front of them climbed up like a spider. They were closing in on it and Will started to sprint toward it. He ran right through it making way for the rest, mostly Layla.

Layla caught up to him and as she opened her mouth to say something, the coach sounded his whistle indicating that they needed to run the second lap.

"You?" Will asked.

"I don't know." Layla said before running ahead. Layla had always been faster then Will, mostly because her legs were longer so by definition, so were her strides. But now, he was getting faster so he wasn't too far behind.

"Layla!" He called after her. She glanced back, "You're hiding something from me, I know it."

She slowed down so he could run besides her, "No I'm not. I just don't remember what I was going to say, honestly." She said... well, honestly.

Will frowned to himself when all of a sudden the floor quickly split apart, leaving a big gap. He heard Layla gasp and slightly chuckled as he picked her up bridal style and jumped over the gap successfully. Layla's cheeks burned, "Thanks." She mumbled as she ran ahead.

Will was a little fatigued, "You're welcome." He breathed as he tried to keep running.

Layla heard the third whistle and picked up the pace for the third and final lap. She wasn't very good with running but since her mind was distracted, she didn't notice the burning sensation in her legs and face. Her thoughts trailed back to her mom. She didn't give much thought to the fact that she was going to miss her at first. Now that she needed her advice and a warm hug, she wanted her to be back from Africa. Then her thoughts switched to what she was going to do since she was locked out of her house. She knew she couldn't stay at Warren's until her mother got back for a couple of reasons. She also thought about what her relationship/friendship stood with Will and if she was really suspended. Everything was just tied to each other and Layla couldn't quite bring them apart to make things clearer.

Layla was bought out of her thinking when she ran head on into something. She rubbed her forehead and looked up. Couch Boomer stared down at her angrily. She braced herself.

"Uh... what are you doing, Williams?" He asked in a whisper as he crouched down in front of her.

"Um... running?" She said sheepishly.

"Yeah, well, look behind me and tell me what you see." He said.

Layla peeked around him and saw some students leaping over a large gap. Larger than the one from before. She swallowed heavily, 'How did I not see that? How did I not see him?'

"A big hole." She said, sounding like an ashamed four year old.

"That's right," He forced a smile, "a big hole that you were about to fall in!" He shouted at her. She flinched. "Williams, what's goin' on?" He asked her more privately.

"Nothing, couch, everything is fine. I was just a little distracted, won't happen again, promise." She said as she scrambled to her feet and straightened out her shirt.

He stood to his feet and fixed her a cold stare, "You better hope so little miss. No one is distracted in my class!" He pointed back at the track, "Two more laps for you, Williams."

Layla held back her groan and threw her head back, "Yes, couch Boomer." She mumbled as she started to jog away.

Again, she found herself jumping, ducking, swinging and sliding across the floor, avoiding the spontaneous obstacles that came in her way. Just once did she almost knock her head off with a pole she barely managed to duck under.

Will watched from the other side of the gym as Layla struggled to pass the obstacles on her own. He knew there was something bothering her and he didn't think it was the abuse to dolphins this time. When he turned back, a ball was headed straight toward him. He caught it abruptly and it popped in his hands. He looked back at the teams sheepishly as they glared at him angrily.

"Way to go, bonehead." A student with frizzy hair said, crossing his arms.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to." He said nervously. He avoided the teachers glare as much as he could but that didn't make him disappear like he was hoping he would.

"Another distracted student?" Boomer shouted angrily, "Come on, guys! I know it's the last week of school and it's Monday and you all wanna leave but you can't so might as well put your all into it!" He shouted, his echo making the windows rumble. "Now, are there any more students that are feeling distracted today?" He asked just daring them to say something.

No one said a thing and they looked away. Will sighed and headed off to the bleachers like he has been sent all this week. That's the seventh ball he's popped since last week. He sat down and put his head in his hands, "What's wrong with you Stronghold?" He groaned.

"A lot of things are wrong with you, Will."

Will jumped and when he noticed it was just Layla, he buried his head back into his hands. Layla laughed softly. He smiled to himself, he loved that laugh of hers.

"So, how's it going with Gwen?" Layla asked as she sat next to him.

Will looked up at her and stared in disbelief, "You actually wanna know?"

Layla scoffed, "I asked didn't I?"

"Well, good, I guess..." He said awkwardly. He really didn't want to talk about this with Layla. He didn't want to hurt her any more. He changed the subject desperately, "So about that suspension?" He bought up.

Layle tensed, "Um... I don't know. Guess it was someone trying to pull a prank on me or something. Probably the same person that has me locked out of my house." She shrugged and when Will gave her that look, she regretted it cause she hadn't want him to know that.

"Someone locked you out of your own house? Who would do that? If I find out I'll-"

"You'll what?" Layla asked threateningly.

"Whoa, what's wrong? I was just gonna say I'd make them regret it. Chill, Lay." Will said, holding his hands up defensively.

Layla scoffed, "I'd like that." She mumbled before getting up as the last bell rang. She would like to see Will and Gwen fighting cause of her. She walked out of the gym before anyone, grabbed her notebook and headed out of the school.

In the halls, Magenta spotted her red headed friend, "Lay! Wait up!" She called out, jogging to catch up to her through the mess of students and teachers eager to leave the building.

Layla heard her friend clearly but pretended to not have and just kept walking. Magenta lost her in the crowd and even when she exited the school. Layla just disappeared.

"Hey, Maj! Come sit on the bus with me, girl!" Zach hollered at her as he waved his arm at her.

Magenta searched around as she walked over, hoping to catch a glimpse of Layla but she had no such luck. She got on the bus and plopped down next to Zach.

"Did you see where Layla went?" She asked. She stared blankly at the seat in front of her.

"Nope." He said, popping the 'p'.

Layla watched as the bus took off from behind the stairs. She sighed and trudged over to a big shady tree and sat under it. She stared at the sky blankly. It was so blue, not a cloud in sight and the sun was hiding in the other direction from where she was looking. She sighed peacefully and thought back to a week ago when things seemed like they couldn't get better. It was hard to believe what things have come to in such a short time and all because of her. She scoffed as tears finally came out from her eyes and smiled up at the sky.

"Why is this happening to me?" She asked no one in particular as she plopped down onto the grass. She watched as little black ants crawled around and climbed the small pieces of grass that to them probably seemed like skyscrapers. She laughed as she thought of how brave they were, being so small yet biting things that could easily destroy them. She poked a strand of grass that an ant was crawling up and the grass grew longer and longer so the ant never reached the top. She could imagine it's expression, being frustrated and confused over it. She giggled and a small white flower bloomed right in front of her. She smiled at it. She loved how just being with nature made her feel like nothing could go wrong. She picked it off the ground and breathed in it's sweet aroma. It reminded her of Will and how he would always tell her how sweet she smelled, just like a rose.

Layla sighed again and the small flower died in her hand. She dropped it and continued to watch the small ants. Now the little struggling ant reached the top of the grass. She imagined it smiling triumphantly, raising it's little arms in victory. She wished that could be her conquering everything and being victorious in the end.

She smiled to herself randomly just to keep her mood happy. She glanced up to the sky and wondered where Warren could be. The school was already empty, just a few staff and the students that had after school classes or clubs. 'Wait a minute... Why am I waiting for Warren? I had to leave on the bus with my friends... I'm probably the last thing on Warren's mind anyway.' Her thoughts trailed onto Warren. She couldn't help but smile and she didn't really care. He has been there for her through all of this and even if he's hard to get through and he doesn't really show much emotion, he's really great. She hated thinking this but she felt happy to know that she was the only person he treated that way, like he actually cares. And she cares for him too, probably a little too much to be safe I mean it still is Warren Peace.

She spotted a shadow coming toward her. She looked up and saw Warren coming toward her. She smiled and his eyes told her that he was smiling too. She sat up when he was right in front of her. He gave her a questioning look.

"I love you." She breathed and smiled at him, her cheeks a little flushed.

Warren laughed, his teeth showing and his eyes getting smaller, "What?" He asked disbelievingly.

"I love you, Warren Peace!" She giggled.

"Keep it down, Crazy." He barked playfully. "What's the matter with you?" He asked, sitting next to her.

She leaned her head on his shoulder and shrugged, "I don't know. I just realized that I love you. You're my Warren." She glanced up at him and giggled.

He smiled at her, "Your Warren? What's all that supposed to mean?" He raised an eyebrow.

"You're special to me, Pyro. Thanks," She hugged his arm, "for everything."

He grabbed onto her thigh and gave it a squeeze, "Don't ever mention it." He chuckled. "Since when am I your Warren? Since when am I anyone's Warren?"

"I don't know exactly. I guess when you were there for me when Will wasn't. I'm glad he wasn't there..." She confessed.

Warren raised his eyebrows, "You are?" He said. It sounded more like a statement than a question.

She nodded, "Do I bother you? I mean, like, am I too clingy for you?" She asked worriedly.

"You bother the hell out of me, Hippie, you really do. You're way too clingy for me, yeah." He said, wiggling out from her hold. Layla panicked. He smiled to himself and put his arm over her shoulders, "But you're Layla." He said simply.

Layla sighed happily. At least she had Warren. Layla couldn't think about Magenta, Zach, Ethan, her mother, no one. She just cared that she had Warren by her side.

"And you're Warren. The grouchy pain in the ass that shoves me through all of my problems." She giggled.

He shrugged, "I try my best." He squeezed her tightly and she groaned until he loosened his hold.

There was a small silence, "You're in a pretty good mood. What happened back there?" Layla asked.

Warren bought his hands to his sides and fiddled with them, "I set a teachers toupee on fire and got away with it. You should've seen the look on her face." He chuckled.

Layla shoved him with her shoulder, "Warren!" She scolded, "What the hell? A toupee? How cou- Wait, did you say her face?" She asked, suddenly intrigued.

He nodded, "When you become a senior, you'll notice that the teachers are a lot slower and let you get away with more shit."

Layla giggled, "Then why did you come out so late?" She asked.

"I was the one that helped him set it out. That's why I got away with it, he would never suspect a thing."

"Anyone would suspect something when Warren Peace is being helpful." Layla teased.

"Oh, you're funny." He said sarcastically like he had before, "Why'd you wait up for me?" He asked, raising an eyebrow at her with a smirk on his face.

Layla wouldn't fall into his little game, "Warren, I'm you're friend right?" She asked. She had always thought it but he never really said it. Maybe to him she was just an acquaintance. That would break her heart. She really liked being his friend. She liked being the one to be there for him. To be the only one that he accepted.

He shrugged, "You just said that you love me, I don't think I should say no to that. It would be rude." He said. He wanted to know if she actually cared. Truth was, she was his close friend and not only because she was the only one. He had always been alone, he liked it that way and Layla had managed to wiggle her way in to his life. He hated it at first but now he just goes along with it. He has started to like having her around to talk to. He had never been a friend to anyone and not that he liked having to be there for someone but he felt differently toward Layla and he wanted to know if it was somewhat the same for her.

Layla moved in front of him and stared into his eyes. He felt his heart skip a beat as tears shined against the sun in her green eyes. 'Is she serious about this or is it because of everything that's going on and I'm the only one here with her?' Warren wondered to himself.

"Warren..." She choked out worriedly.

Warren smiled at her and leaned his head against the tree, "You're my friend, Hippie." He said honestly.

"Now I don't know if you mean it." Layla narrowed her eyes at him.

Warren rolled his eyes and got into a crouching position. Layla watched him closely. He leaned over, grabbed the back of her head and placed a kiss on her forehead before standing up and walking ahead. Layla stayed there, frozen both physically and mentally. That had to be the sweetest thing anyone had done to her and it was none other than Warren Peace. She really did love him, he was really coming to be a close friend.