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Disclaimer: I do not own Sky High.
I felt my soul zip back into my body and wondered where I was. Did I fall asleep in class again?
Oh, right. I live in Maxville and go to a high school for super teens.
But that didn't answer what had happened. I opened my eyes and blinked away the fuzziness in my vision to see Nurse Spex hovering worriedly over me. The room smelled like lollipops and medicine.
"Oh, good. You're awake. I was beginning to worry a bit," she sighed. "You kids can come in now!" she called to the door.
I sat up and rubbed my eyes drearily. Layla, Zach, Magenta, Ethan, and Will rushed in. They began pestering me with questions and comments until I raised my hand to stop them.
I mumbled something incomprehensible.
"What?" asked Layla confusedly.
"Wahappand?" I asked a little louder.
"Speak up, sweetie," said Nurse Spex.
"What happened?!" I yelled. "Oops." I covered my mouth. My friends laughed and proceeded recap the Save the Citizen match.
"So after you passed out because Speed cut off your oxygen with a vortex vacuum, the Save the Citizen match ended in a tie. Speed called for a rematch"- began Will.
"Yo, man! You totally gave Lash a humongous shiner!" Zach interrupted. A grin split my face. Nice, something to remember me by.
"Anyways," said Ethan. "Coach Boomer picked Warren Peace to be your replacement and Will and Warren totally killed Lash and Speed! I don't have to get dunked in the toilet!" I gave Ethan an relieved smile, still feeling loopy from my unconsciousness.
"Good job, kid," I chuckled and punched Will lightly in the shoulder. He rubbed his arm and gave me a sheepish smile. "Anybody got any Tylenol? My head is killing me."
I hadn't forgotten what Warren told me to do last night. Should I go? The question was a given. I couldn't refuse. I had to go.
While thinking this, I walked into the kitchen to find Will, Steve, Josie, and Gwen Grayson chumming it up. What the hell?!
"Oh, hi Avery. You know Gwen, right?" greeted Josie. Gwen's head snapped up and her eyes found mine. I put on a mask of nonchalance and nodded.
"Avery! You live with Will?" she questioned as a flash of something passed her eyes before it settled on cheerfulness.
I fake smiled and said yes, in fact I was his sister. Confusion appeared in her expression before it settled on something darker and calculating.
"Avery, Gwen's staying with us for dinner. Do you think you can make it?" asked Steve, breaking my gaze from Gwen's face.
"Sorry Steve," I apologized. "But I have an appointment."
With that, I grabbed my resume and headed out the door for the Paper Lantern.
I followed the directions Layla gave me ("You're on a date?" "No I"- "Well, good luck! Here're the directions!" *sigh*) and ended up at a humble little building with Chinese lanterns swaying on the outside. It looked warm and cozy and golden light was filtering through the open windows. The wind carried the smell of food and I was drawn in.
I walked through the door and a bell chimed, letting the staff know I was here. I waited a few seconds while getting a quick look around.
"Greene," came a voice from behind me. I turned around and saw Warren looking down at me. Damn. He had his hair tied back and his arms exposed, and let me just say, his arms were tan muscular, and hot. Not hot meaning the flame tattoos licking the inside of his wrists, the other kind of hot.
"You work here." A statement, not a question.
"Yeah. Did you bring your portfolio?" I held it up. He made a motion for me to follow him, so I did and he led me to an office in the back, next to the kitchen. A middle aged Chinese woman was standing there, looking irritated. She yelled at Warren in Chinese, in which he grumbled something back and left.
"Have any work experience?" Wow, okay, right to the chase. I listed some grocery store job I had in New York.
"Hired. Five to nine, every day except Sunday. Okay with you?"
I was kind of reeling from the sudden turn of events, so I answered faintly,"That's fine. Should I eat here every day? Can I go home to eat with the family sometimes?"
"Fine, as long as you come back. Pay is seven dollars an hour. Your name?" she questioned, pulling out a clipboard.
"Avery. Greene." I was still shocked this was happening.
"You start tomorrow. Today you can eat here, on the house. I'm Ms. Wu," she smiled for the first time since I got here and stuck out a wrinkly hand, worn from hard work. I shook it and smiled at her warmth.
"Now, shoo! I have work to do," she insisted. I went and sat down at the nearest empty booth and ordered some stir fry noodles from a waitress.
I dug into my bag and stuffed my headphones onto my ears. Music poured into my ears through the speakers and I almost didn't notice the waitress drop off my food. I scarfed down the goodness, stuffed the headphones in my bag, and headed for the door.
On my way out, something green caught the corner of my eye. I skidded to a halt and backed up.
In the corner of a desolate booth sat Layla, looking depressed and deserted with a plate of cold vegetables in front of her.
"Hey, Layla! What're you doing here? Are you stalking me because you think I'm on a date?" I mused, hoping to get that expression off her face. Normally I never joke. If there's one thing that doesn't suit Layla, it's melancholy.
She turned to me, green eyes drooping. "As much as I wish that were the case, I'm not. I was supposed to be meeting Will here at eight. Do you know where he is?"
What was Will doing that could make him forget about Layla? I tried to remember what he was doing when I got home… wait… wasn't he with… Gwen?
The bastard got blindsided by her stunning looks and personality that he forgot to meet up with Layla and the Paper Lantern.
Seriously, I sometimes want to disown that kid.
"Uh… no. No idea." I was so in for it. "He was just doing homework when we got home and I had to come here right away because I was at the nurse's office till 5, remember?"
"Oh… Thanks anyway. I'm sure he's just late." It was 8:30.
Guilt pierced me. I didn't want to tell Layla about Gwen, it would break her heart. Then again, I couldn't just leave while I led her on to believe that Will would still come.
"Um, hey! I guess I could spare a minute or two to wait with you," I said and sat down next to Layla with my bag at one side.
"So, you never told me what you were doing here," Layla said in false happiness.
"Oh, I got a job here." I conveniently left out the person who recommended me.
"That's cool." She murmured and slouched back into her dreary self. The jasmine flower in front of us shriveled up.
I looked around awkwardly, hoping Will finally got his mind straight and remembered about his appointment with Layla. Instead, I spotted Warren, who was cleaning his way through the empty tables. I still couldn't reconcile this image of him with the broody guy who sat b himself at lunch.
He'd probably wonder what I'd still be doing here, so I turned invisible just as he lifted his head toward our table.
"Still working on that?" he inquired gruffly as he walked over.
Next to me, Layla turned her gaze to Warren and gaped.
"Hey," she greeted.
"Hey."
"We go to school together."
Pause. "You're Stronghold's friend."
"Yeah…" she didn't sound too happy about it. To be honest, I wasn't too happy to be associated with him either. Warren must have caught on, because he bit his lip and looked around awkwardly. Seriously, he looked kind of adorable. With his hair tied back, he didn't have that menacing i'll-roast-you-to-death look. He actually looked...kind?
"You want me to heat that up for you?" Back to busboy mode.
Laylas eyes widened and she leaned forward. "You're not supposed to use your powers outside school," she whispered. I rolled my eyes. Always a stickler to the rules.
"I was just gonna stick it in the microwave." Did I just detect a hint of a joke in there?
Layla breathed out and chuckled. I felt extremely tense sitting there, like I was intruding or something. From previous experiences though, I knew to keep silent.
"Uh, I was… supposed to be meeting will here, but no," she said quickly. "You wanna sit down?" she pressed her fist against my side and flashed a smirk as Warren looked around the almost empty restaurant. Oh my god I think she forgot about me while she was talking to him. I willed Warren to sit near to edge so I wouldn't get squashed.
"I think I can spare a minute." He set down his water jug and sat down.
He lit the tip of his finger on fire and used it to light up the cinnamon candle in the middle of the table. He stared at it with a calm expression, almost as if it relaxed him. It probably did.
"Hey, you're friends with Greene, right?" I stiffened up as Layla smiled, kind of evilly. "Did you see her here while you were eating?"
I turned visible. "Boo."
Warren flinched while Layla laughed her head off. It was good to see her amused, at least temporarily, so I risked my life by scaring Warren.
"What happened to 'you're not supposed to use your powers outside school'?" I joked at Layla.
Warren sighed and turned away from me. "So, what happened to get you into this mess?" he asked Layla.
That seemed to spur her on to tell us her life story while we patiently listened. Well, Warren patiently listened. I tapped against the jug of water impatiently, already having heard the whole story before. Multiple times.
"So then there was this time in first grade. You know how you grow lima beans in school?" she jabbered. "Well, Will could not figure out why mine were growing so quickly, it was driving him crazy." Warren sighed and bit his lip. Finally! I was beginning to think his patience was unlimited. "So finally I took mercy on him and I told him about my powers. We've been best friends ever since," finished Layla with a shrug. Oh, come on. You totally want to be more than just best friends.
Then Warren said something totally unexpected. "And falling for him, did that happen before or after the lima beans?" Wow, Warren Peace the shrink.
"W-what?! I am not in love with Will Strong"- Warren and I raised our eyebrows. "Is it that obvious?" she asked, defeated.
"Extremely obvious," I said, playing with the dead flower next to the candle.
"Yeah," agreed Warren.
"Great."
"So why don't you just tell him?" Warren the shrink...nice look for him.
"Well, I was gonna ask him to Homecoming, but… there's two problems. He likes somebody else, and she's perfect,"sighed Layla.
"Gwen Grayson is not perfect. She's got nothing on you," I snorted. She shot me a grateful glance, but it still was doubtful.
"Hm… you know what I think? To let true love remain unspoken is the quickest route to a heavy heart."
I raised a brow as Layla inhaled. "Wow. That's really deep."
"Yeah. And, your lucky numbers are four, sixteen, five, and twenty nine." I smirked and Laya chuckled.
Ms. Wu yelled something in Chinese to Warren. I'm guessing it went something like a 'Start working and stop socializing or I'll kick your ass into next year!' sorta thing. Warren yelled something back.
"I gotta go." He slid the paper across the table. "See ya around." I blew out the candle as Layla waved goodbye.
"I guess I gotta go too. Hope the moral support from Warren the shrink helped," I said and gathered my things.
"You know what, I think I will tell Will about how I feel. Thanks Avery, see you tomorrow!" she chirped, back to normal. I smiled and headed out the door, the wind chime ringing in my trail.
The library was pretty close, so I hauled ass over there to get some research for my Hero History essay. Seriously, a week into school and I already had a stack of homework on my desk.
As I was walking home, I saw Warren's back a half a block away.
"Hey! Warren!" I yelled, feeling impulsive. He turned around and raised an eyebrow, but kept silent. He stood immobile as I ran to catch up.
"Why did you get me that job?" I panted, trying to match his long strides beside him. Okay, guess I'm just going to let my mouth run itself.
Silence. He hooked him thumbs in the pockets of his leather jacket.
"It isn't because you pity me or something?"
I studied his downturned face, looking for traces of emotion. He stared at me with a recognition in his face, and I knew that he knew about what happened to my parents.
"I try… really hard… to right the wrongs of my father," he murmured, almost talking to himself in a way. He faced me. "Now we're equal. I know one of your secrets, you know one of mine. I don't like owing people anything." I just realized he just quoted what I said the other night and the corner of my mouth quirked up.
"You know, you're not as scary as you make yourself out to be," I remarked. His eyebrows scrunched together.
"Really?" he said with a hint of menace and lit his hand on fire and held it out in front of me.
"Really," I said, unfazed, and turned my hand intangible and put it through his. His cheeks turned red when he realized that I was holding his hand, indirectly at least. He put out the fire and drew his hand back quickly into his pocket. I turned solid and smirked.
It seemed like there was more to Warren Peace that met the eye. I didn't think of his bad boy image when he walked me home when he barely knew me, or talked to Layla even though she was Will's best friend. Or when he just talked to me about his father, whom he started a fight with Will over because he mentioned him.
"Are you walking me home?" I asked. I didn't see him on the bus, so he couldn't live in my neighborhood and here he was walking alongside me.
"Yeah, why not." Well because Will saw you the other day and Steve chewed me out. But I didn't say that.
He suddenly stopped. I looked at him. His face was twisted in disgust as he looked far out in front of us.
I followed his gaze and found Will kissing Gwen Grayson on the doorstep of a house, most likely hers.
"That dickwad!"- I began, but Warren clamped a gloved hand over my mouth and muffled the sound. Luckily, we were under the only light on the block that didn't work, so when Will and Gwen stopped kissing and looked in our direction, they only saw darkness. Also, I turned myself and Warren invisible.
They recovered, said goodbye, and separated. Warren and I let out a sigh of relief and turned visible. My face turned red and I shoved his hand away, flustered. My mouth was still warm from the encounter when I touched my red lips.
"Sorry," he apologized gruffly.
" 'S alright."
"Guess I should leave now, my mom's probably getting worried."
"Thanks, Warren."
He turned around and sauntered away in the opposite direction. Will jumped up, grabbed the top of the nearest lamppost, swung around it and broke it in the process. He set it up, but it just came crashing down again. In his bliss, Will didn't bother to fix it again, leaving me to try and clean up his mess.
Stupid hormonal teenage boys.