A/N: Sorry for taking this long to update I just have so many stories I have to update and some I haven't even started to consider updating :/ But I'm trying my best here everyone, bear with me. You don't have to but it means a lot to me so please review to let me know how many of you actually want to see more of this. Please excuse my poor grammar and such, I'm just barely graduating from middle school this year (don't take that the wrong way, I got most A's and maybe a B because the teacher was out for two weeks and we fell behind.) I also have my finals next week so this weekend, I have to study my but off too. So this chapter will be very dramatic from beginning to the very end and I think it'll be sad too so brace yourselves for this chapter.
Warren killed the engine of his motorcycle and hopped off it easily. Layla... well she didn't do so well.
"Watch it with the mufflers! Their hot!" Warren just finished warning her as quickly as he could when she screamed out and fell to the ground. He knelt down next to her, "I tried to warn you." He said innocently.
"Yeah, I tad too late there, Warren. Thanks though, it's the thought that counts, really." She said sarcastically behind gritted teeth. The pain was unbearable.
"I didn't think someone could be so-"
"Warren, dare you say something about it and I'll-"
"You'll what?" He threatened finally.
Layla shut her mouth and looked away from him. Sometimes he could be such a jerk. "Hey, I know that look. You're thinking that I'm being a jerk," He scoffed and crossed his arms over his chest, "Well, news flash, darling, you were being the bitch first." He accused her.
She sent him a cold stare and opened her mouth to say something but he was right. She came out with the sarcasm first and he ignored it and tried to make a joke to make her feel better but she threatened him. It was to be expected that Warren would say what he said.
Layla sighed and pushed herself off the ground. She put most of her weight on her uninjured leg. Warren watched her carefully. She leaned over and wrapped her arms around his neck which wasn't easy 'cause she had to tip-toe to get there.
"I'm sorry, Warren." She whispered to him.
He put his hands on the small of her back, not wanting to go soft, "It's okay, Layla." He said emotionless.
"No, I really am." She whined, keeping her arms tightly around his neck as he tried to pry them off gently.
"Yeah, I said it's okay! Get off me." He snapped, jerking her arms away from himself.
Layla felt a knot form in her throat even though she knew she wasn't going to cry. He called me Layla... She stepped away from him and smiled softly, feeling awkward. Warren rolled his eyes and started to walk toward his house but he didn't feel Layla's presence behind him as usual. He looked back and she was still at the end of the walkway, still smiling softly. He jerked his head toward the door, asking her to follow but she just looked at the ground.
"Actually, I think I've bothered you enough, Warren. I'll..." She swallowed heavy, he could see it. "I'll see you later and thanks for the ride." She said before walking... or rather, limping out of his front yard and onto the sidewalk.
Warren stood there without an expression to show her any thought. He just stood there, watching her leave. Layla sighed and continued to walk away, all hope that he'd stop her gone. Warren shook his head slightly and walked into his house. What just happened?
Layla walked down the sidewalk as best she could, listening to the leaves and tall grass rustle in the sweet breeze. She sighed heavily. Now she had nothing nor nowhere to go for the next few hours. Then as if on cue her stomach rumbled. She smiled to herself and started to walk down the route she knew all too well.
Warren sat on his couch, staring at the coffee table before him. He fiddled with the keys that were still in his hands. The gloomy silence that spread all over the house was overwhelming him completely. He glanced at his watch, 5:05. It was still too early to get to work and he sure as hell wasn't going to appear early, it wasn't like him.
He got up and trudged upstairs, going into the bathroom and closing the door behind him. After that, time went by slowly so he decided to take a shower for a while. Time didn't pick up after that either so he went to take a nap. He was restless, couldn't fall asleep. He groaned and went to watch T.V. downstairs but there was nothing to watch there. He glanced at the wall clock, 5:35. He rolled his eyes and went outside for some fresh air. When that finally bored him, he snapped his fingers and a small, harmless flame danced on his finger tip. He stared at it intently as if it were talking to him or something. He decided to add another finger and then another until his hand was wrapped in a big ball of fire. Watching the fire excited him like it used to in the seventh grade. He smiled maliciously and jogged down to the sidewalk, toward his "favorite" front door neighbor's house. He climbed the fence and walked toward the window he knew would be open.
"You would think they'd learn after the fifth time." He said to himself with a smirk wide on his face. He peered inside, making sure no one was in the kitchen or across in the living room. He stuck his hand through the window and just left it there. Nothing happened so he ignited his other hand, putting it next to the other one yet nothing would happen. He increased the heat level and just then the heat detectors went off and the water started to fall from the roof like rain from the sky. He heard screaming from upstairs and bit his lip so he wouldn't laugh out loud. Then a few things came crashing to the ground, must have been to clumsy man trying to get downstairs. He heard whining, it was assumed that it was their preteen daughter. Then shouting was heard, that was most likely to be the wife yelling at the man to hurry and do something.
Warren finally heard the heavy footsteps coming down the stairs. His brain registered it was time to flee but he did otherwise. He ducked under the window and peeked inside. He watched as the man ran into the kitchen and slipped on the wet floor, crashing to the ground. By the way his grunt came out, Warren knew it hurt like hell. Before the man could get up, Warren was already hopping over the fence, heading toward his next door neighbor's house. He enjoyed it here the most. They had things he could easily do here.
He hopped over the fence, smiling evilly as he sneaked into the backyard. Now, what he didn't expect was that his neighbor got a new dog. A new big dog... with teeth and claws. A rottweiler no less. It started to bark at Warren from it's spot tied around a small tree. Warren didn't want to be scared but that animal looked vicious.
"I guess the old man took it personal when I burned his flower patch last week, huh, boy?" Warren said to the dog, trying to calm him down. The dog started to growl, foam coming from the sides of it's mouth.
"Hey, sloberpuss, I ain't leavin' until I mess something up and to tell you the truth, I don't want it to be you." Warren warned, holding up his arms in surrender. The dog started to jerk himself toward Warren, the small little tree shaking around wildly. Warren knew that it wouldn't long but he had to mess with this guy.
Warren walked around the dog casually, showing it no fear and pried open the doors to the small shed there was out there, rusting away. He smiled when he caught sight of an old shovel. He grabbed it and came back out. He plunged it into the dirt and started shoveling, making sure the dirt would land on the dog which would only make him more furious. When he finished digging the hole, he dumped all of the tools and screw into it. He patched it up, plucked some flowers from their patch and threw them over the hole, then he jammed the shovel deep into the ground.
"Your owner is deaf. You would think the man would come check on you after you've been barking your heart out." Warren mocked the dog. Then he noticed that the tree was nearly touching the ground. One more pull and the tree was down and dog was free. Warren finished analyzing this and the dog came running forward as the tree came crashing to the ground.
"Yeah, come at me mutt!" He threatened, crouching into an attack position. He ignited his flames and the dog ceased to a stop, sniffing at the fire curiously all the while growling at Warren. "It's fire, bitch. Come get some." He snarled and the dog also snarled but didn't attack. "That's right. You're a smart doggie." He said as he turned around, ready to leave. The dog took this as an opportunity to attack so he chased after Warren who ran the rest of the way there and swiftly climbed the fence, falling flat on his back on the other side. He grunted as he got up, limping his way home.
Layla was standing in front of the Paper Lantern, thinking that she should go inside already... But she didn't. She sighed and walked away, heading in a random direction. She watched some cars drive by slowly, some children getting off the bus, running home happily into their parents arms, she watched some joggers pass by her, some men and women leaving for work, some in a hurry, some very disorganized, coming in and out of their house as they searched for the car keys probably. There were some people walking their dogs together, some people were talking over the fence as neighbors do, some were working on their lawns and someone was running right into her causing them to fall down.
"Oh! I'm sorry about that- Layla?" The person said.
Layla's head was still spinning as the person pulled her up off the ground. She dusted herself off and looked up. She almost gasped, "Will?" She asked in disbelief. He smiled at her.
"What are you doing around here?" He asked dumbly.
"Just taking a walk, I guess." She shrugged, "What about you? Where are you headed?" She asked.
"Oh, I was on my way to Gwen's place," He said. He saw Layla's expression turn sad. He half-smiled, "but now I'm going to take a walk with my best friend." He said as he nudged her forward to walk.
Layla pushed her hair behind her ear and blushed, "No, it's okay, Will. You shouldn't leave Gwen hanging-"
"Nah, don't worry about it, she didn't know I was gonna visit." Will reassured.
"Are you sure about that, Will?" Layla asked suspiciously. He nodded once and started to fiddle around with his hands.
Layla stared at the ground as they walked in complete silence. Now, everyone seemed to disappear so Layla couldn't distract herself with them like she had before. She almost scoffed at the irony of it.
"So," Will said, hoping that she'd have something to talk about.
"Soo," Layla repeated.
Will cleared his throat awkwardly, "H-Have you managed to get into your house?" He asked.
Layla hadn't actually thought about that at all, "No actually... I haven't even tried to tell you the truth." She admitted.
"What? W-Well, where are you staying?" He asked slightly alarmed.
"Huh?" She asked.
"Where are you staying then?" He asked again.
"Oh... I was staying with Warren." She said. The fact she said it so happily disturbed Will greatly... so greatly in fact that he stopped walking to stare at her questioningly. Layla stopped and looked back at him, "What?" She asked confused.
"What do mean what, Layla? You're staying at Warren's house." He said in disbelief.
"Will, we've been over this before and-"
"But Layla! It's Warren Peace we're talking about. He's cold, he doesn't like people, he's mean, he-"
Warren could hear a familiar pair of voices outside his house. He walked to the door and opened it to check who it was and what they wanted. He was surprised to see Layla and Will out there. Will looked frustrated and Layla looked as if she were going to pounce on him and beat him with a stick. Finding this interesting, he leaned on the threshold, crossed his arms over his chest and watched the show.
Layla had been biting her tongue but she couldn't really help it anymore. She didn't want to do this to Will but she also didn't want to hear him or anyone talking about Warren that way.
"Shut up!" She screeched, "Will, you don't know the first thing about Warren! You don't know how he can be sweet, caring and considerate. Funny, charming and a great friend. Just because you don't like him doesn't mean the world has to look down upon him too! Warren is a great guy deep down and truthfully, you're a worst guy that he can ever be, Will!" She screamed at him.
Will's eyes widened like saucers, "What the hell are you talking about, Lay?" He shouted back at her.
"Will, you left me for that good for nothing Gwen. You broke my heart, Will, you really did but that isn't all either. You don't talk to me anymore, you don't hang out with me or my friends like you used to, you're cocky, very stubborn and a jerk!" She said. "Warren was there for me when you left me, Will. He talked to me, pushed me forward and was just there for me to lean on when I needed help. Something you should have done but you never did. He's my best friend now, Will and I love him." She said sternly.
Will's mouth dropped, "You love him? Layla, listen to yourself! He probably put some kind of drug in your drink this morning. He even has you dressing like a slut!" Will said exasperatedly. Warren's fists clenched but he decided he could let Layla fight her own battle.
Layla gasped, shocked he had said that, "He did not! I'm perfectly sane here, Will! He did me a favor. I had no clothes to wear and this is all he had. You know, you aren't anyone to judge me! You're dating that tramp Gwen, she dresses like this all the time anyway-"
"It's different with you, Layla."
"Why is that?" She snapped.
"Because... you're Layla and it just isn't right." He said.
Layla scoffed, "You're unbelievable, Will Stronghold!" She screamed, "I can't believe you would say that. You said yourself that I'm too conservative! Well, now that's changed." She barked.
"Well, I take it back now! You shouldn't have guys staring at you like they did today, it's not right."
"What? Like you didn't stare?" Layla accused.
"Yeah, I did but I have more authority to stare than those creeps." He said sternly.
In a way he was right but it wasn't right at all, "Not anymore." She hissed.
"And Warren does?" He raised an eyebrow at her.
What's with this guy?, "That isn't any of your business, Will." She snapped. Will's face got red with anger.
"You're even being cold like him!" He screamed, not having anything better to say.
Layla choked on the knot in her throat and tears threatened to fall from her eyes, "I'm being cold, Will? I'm the one that's being cold here? Think about it. You left me, you abandoned your friends to be with Gwen, you treat us like sidekicks and not like equals... you don't even treat us like friends anymore. When you jumped in to help Zach, you didn't want to help him, you wanted attention from everyone." She hissed, fighting with her sobs.
"You jumped in to help Warren. What was that all about?" Will barked.
"Friends are always helping each other, Will. I'm not surprised you've already forgotten." She said coldly. It hurt both what he was saying and that she had to be so cold to the guy she felt so strongly for.
"Layla, he isn't your friend." He tried to sound sympathetic. He grabbed her hand and put it to his chest, "I'm your friend and I always will be your friend." He said. Layla used her hand to shove him away and then jerked it away from him.
"That's what I used to believe, Will. But thanks to you I've realized it's the other way around. Thank you, Will, really. Thank you for making me realize this the hard way." She said, her voice almost a whisper.
"You're insane! I've always been there for you, Layla. We were the best friends there could ever be-"
"Stop saying that!" She screeched, covering her ears tightly as she started to cry. She didn't want to remember that one fact. She didn't want to be thinking that she lost her best friend, the guy she loves so much. She didn't want to remember all the good times they had together. She still loved him to death but he didn't love her anymore, she knew that very well. He just didn't want her to hang out with Warren. He didn't want Warren to have anyone.
Will jerked her arms away from her ears easily. She gasped at the pain it caused her. "Layla, listen. I'm sorry for whatever I did. Don't cry, Layla, please."
"Then stop making me cry!" She screamed at him.
"I'm sorry! Layla, you know that Warren would make you cry even more. He'd hurt you more-"
"More than you have?" She spat, "No one can hurt me more than you have, Will. Warren wouldn't hurt me, I know it. Even if he doesn't show it, I know he doesn't want to hurt me. He's not like that, the way you say he is." Layla cried.
Warren couldn't believe what he was hearing from her. He couldn't believe how she defended him no matter what Stronghold said to her. She was determined to let him know how much she cared for him. He hated how he kept trying to convince her that he was a bad guy and how he kept telling her things he knew she didn't want to hear. He wanted to go out there and pound him and just make his friend feel better as best as he could but he wanted Layla to handle it, he knew she could.
"Yes he is, Layla. Everyone knows that-"
"That's because they don't know my Warren!" She cried out.
"Layla, please-"
"No, Will, you please, go away." She said. Will opened his mouth to argue but she pointed away back toward where they came from, "Go. Away." She hissed, looking at the ground.
"Layla, I love you, don't do this to me, Lay-"
Layla wanted to scream her lungs out and pull all of her hair out. Why couldn't he just leave without another word. Layla started to shake and gasp for air, this was all too much for her, she felt lightheaded and her blood pressure was over the top. She gasped for air more frantically, placing her hand on her stomach.
"Just... leave." She mumbled.
"Layla-"
Warren couldn't take this anymore, Layla needed a break. He stormed out to them and shoved Will out onto the street. "She said to get the hell out of here, Stronghold." He barked.
"Back off, Peace. This is between me and her." He said, trying to walk past him. Warren pushed him back angrily causing Will to stumble.
"Wrong. There is nothing between you and her, Stronghold, can't you see that? Look at what you did to her." He stepped aside enough for Will to see Layla sitting on the floor curled up into a ball, "You left her in pieces. Get out of here before I leave you in pieces." Warren threatened before he started to walk back to Layla.
"You're not gonna make me leave her, Peace." Will called, starting to walk past him.
Warren grabbed his shirt tightly and tossed him back onto the street. Will grunted as he tried to get back on his feet. It's been a while since he was actually hurt. Warren ignited his flames and stood in front of Layla almost protectively. "Stronghold, I'm giving you one last chance to get the fuck out of here before I fry your dirty ass!" Warren screamed furiously.
Will flinched. He had never been so terrified of Warren and Warren has never been this pissed before. He looked like the devil himself standing in front of him just daring him to make the smallest move so he could blow him up into oblivion. He knew that Layla wasn't going to help him and he knew that since they weren't at school, Warren wasn't going to hold back nor would there be someone to stop the fight and to top that off, the humans would see them and make a bigger scene, and someone could get hurt. Will got up and stood his ground. He glanced at Layla who was looking at him intently. Her eyes were bloodshot, her face was all wet and she was more pale than usual. He knew then that Layla actually cared for Warren and Warren cared for her and no matter how much he disliked that, he wasn't going to risk anything with Warren.
Will watched as Layla climbed to her feet and ran forward. He had hope that she got scared and was coming to him for protection. His hopes fell when she hugged Warren from behind tightly and just buried her face into his back. Warren let his flames die down and he bought her to his chest, hugging her tightly too. Will's blood boiled with anger. No way anyone could find any kind of comfort around Warren, he was his nemesis. He looked up at Warren and almost flinched again. Warren was looking at Will with the darkest look he had ever received from another living being. Will decided it was time to leave, he couldn't do anything here. At least nothing that can solve anything at the moment. He used his fastest form of transportation and flew straight to Gwen's house. He needed to relieve some stress and he was sure Gwen would be more than happy to help him out with that.
Warren watched Will leave, letting him take his anger with him so he could handle Layla. He looked down at her head, "You really meant all you said to Stronghold? All you said about me?" He asked.
She nodded her head weakly and hugged him tighter. Warren pulled her up and bought her inside the house, shutting the door and going upstairs into his room. He dropped her gently into his bed and he sat next to her, stroking her hair softly. He felt strange but in a good way.
"You don't need to hear how much of a dick he is from me." He said almost like a question.
"I don't need to hear it but it would make me feel much better." She said. Warren's eyes widened. He thought she didn't like it when he did that, no matter what Will had done. He was more surprised at what she did next.
She grabbed his arm and pulled him down so he was laying beside her. She pulled his arm under her head and wrapped it around herself so she could nestle up against him like a kitten. She put her hand on his chest and linked her leg with his absentmindedly. Warren felt very uncomfortable but at the same time, he never felt so damn comfortable before. He cleared his throat and started to rant out every bad, horrible, terrible, vulgar thing he could ever think of saying about William Stronghold and his little girlfriend and every nice, supportive, sweet thing he has thought about Layla. He had been talking for more than two hours, getting a giggle out of Layla every now and then. Just the smallest of a giggle that he couldn't even hear, he could only feel her body move a little.
With all of that been said, they started to feel sleepy. By the time his mouth became dry and his throat hurt, Layla finally fell asleep, managing to hear everything she wanted to hear about Will. Warren stared at her sleeping up against him. He moved to leave her but she whimpered softly, tightening her hold around him, "Don't leave, please." She mumbled, moving her head to a more comfortable spot between his arm and chest. Warren looked around the room awkwardly. He's slept in a bed with a girl before not to mention a little bit more than sleep but with Layla it was completely different starting with the fact that he knew who she was, they were friends and he cared for her. He felt wrong but right. He argued with himself until he finally fell asleep with her... so basically... he won.
A/N: Let me know on a scale from one to ten how bad you want them to get together. 1,2,3,4,5,6 you want to know what can happen on the way as they start to show more feelings for each other, more action, more of a story. 7,8,9,10 you want them to get together immediately and without much of a developing relationship and such.