A/N: wow! sorry I haven't updated in a while! I hope that this long chapter makes up for it :) Soon enough I should have a lot more time though... summer! ...anyways... enjoy!
Peace
Chapter 6
The entire way to the Paper Lantern I walked a few steps behind Warren; otherwise he would have seen the incredibly dumb smile on face. Once we got there we both clocked in and I put my waiter apron on. Well it wasn't really an apron, more of a cloth with pockets tied around my waist… Warren went into the kitchen so I didn't have to worry about him seeing me smile like an idiot, and in any case I had to greet the customers with a smile so there's nothing wrong here.
About a half hour later, I heard our boss, the owner of the Paper Lantern, half yelling, half scolding Warren in mandarin.
"Why are you at work? I told you, you shouldn't have come! You need to be more social!"
I looked over to see our short manager sticking her index finger straight up at Warren's nose, Warren lifting both his arms above his head in surrender. It really was quite the sight see, seeing as how he was a least a head and a half taller than her.
"Hey! I am social! I just thought you needed help here, besides the parties I go to always end up with a crazy super villain trying to take over the world…" Warren replied.
I smirked as I continued to listen to their ramblings while I went to greet the couple that had just walked in. The owner of the Paper Lantern, Judi Ling, was practically our mother… at least she played that role in our lives. She knew we had powers, she also knew our parents, our mother to be exact. Our mother was always busy, never there. When we were young, it was Judi who would make sure we were alright. Once we were old enough she offered us a job. Even now she worries about us.
"Hello, seat for two?" I asked the couple as I looked down to grab the menus.
"Um, Rachel, it's us… we're not here for diner…" replied Will.
I looked up to see Will and Layla staring at me. "Oh, sorry… I was lost in thought and I've become so accustomed to the job I sort of just do it automatically…" I was starting to ramble.
"Um right… I'll show you to where Warren is… You're in luck he's in an argument with the owner right now. She wants him to leave for the night and go out to have some fun." I told them as I walked over to the kitchen door.
"Oh yeah, and he won't be able to flat out refuse you in front of her so don't worry" I added with a grin as I opened the door to Warren and Judi half-yelling and half-whispering.
"Um… Hi, Judi, Warren…" They turned to look at me, Warrens eyes narrowing when he noticed Will and Layla behind me.
"Rachel, who are these two? Friends of yours?" Judi asked in mandarin.
"Actually, they're Warren's friends" I replied. Warren glared at me. I simply smiled at him.
"Um… I'm Will, and this is Layla" Will stepped in "and we were wondering if Warren and Rachel would be allowed the rest of the night off to come with us to a party?"
Wait did he just say Warren AND Rachel? Oh no…
Judi looked at the Will and Layla, then to Warren, then to me, then back to Will.
"Why of course they can have the rest of the night off! It's the first day back to school, they shouldn't be here right now anyways, right you two." She gave us a warning glare, as if to say, you'd better go to that party, or else…
"That's exactly what I was saying!" Will cried, pleased that someone else understood him.
"Okay, fine we'll go… just let us go home and get out of our work clothes at least, okay?" Warren pleaded, trying to put off going to the party as much as possible.
"Yeah, well then come on, let's go!" I said dragging Warren out of the Paper Lantern before Judi could throw him out.
Will and Layla followed us all the way back to our house, which was only a ten minute walk. Warren walked in to the house, and I followed. But before Warren could shut the door in Will and Layla's face, I caught it and let them in.
Warren immediately trudged up to his room. Instead of following his lead, I offered Will and Layla a drink.
"Don't worry about him, he'll calm down in a few minutes. But I do have one question… Why did you invite me too?"
"Well you are his younger sister, and you were the one to give us the tip off as to how to get him to go out somewhere. We owe you one. Also, I would feel bad if he got to go and you didn't, it wouldn't be fair to leave you at work while Warren went to the party. Not to mention it would also be quite rude…" Layla explained as I handed them both a glass of water as well as taking a sip of my own glass of water.
"Well, that certainly was nice of you, although I'm not really one for parties… Besides I don't even think I have anything appropriate for a party…" I told them.
"Don't worry, I'll help you!" Layla said as she got up and pulled me over to the stairs. "Now let's go find you an outfit!"
Once in my room, Layla went through my closet and found a few pieces that would work. Of course I stood there silently, not really used to what was going on.
After trying on about ten different outfits, Layla decided that the simple, flowing blue top with sequins and the white capris was the "perfect outfit".
"Now all that's left is your hair" she told me cheerfully.
"No. No way are you touching my hair. I can do that myself."
"But –"
"No." I cut her off as I walked into the bathroom and stared at myself in the mirror. She had even gone so far as to force on a minimal amount of makeup. Mascara, lipstick, and a bit of eyeliner were all perfectly applied on my face. I stared at myself in the mirror for a moment before I took my hair out of its ponytail and straitening it.
I took one last look in the mirror and decided I looked presentable enough, or at least I hoped…
"Wow, Rachel, your hair totally makes the outfit!" Layla said smiling as we made our way downstairs. We were met with Warren and Will, arguing about who knows what, but they stopped when Layla cleared her throat.
"Well, should we get going?" she asked. Everyone voiced their agreement. I finally took a good look at what Layla was wearing. She looked stunning, in a simple green and black dress. It looked casual but fit for a party. I looked at Will, surprised to see that he too looked dressed up, wearing a proper shirt and good jeans. Warren too had on his better clothes, black jeans, and a blood red dress shirt.
What was this party, why did we all have to dress up…? I thought to myself as we started walking to the party. Apparently it was only a few blocks away.
"In case you're wondering what this party is, it's the upperclassmen, hero track only party. We're probably the only sophomores invited. You might be the only freshman there by the way, but it's tons of fun so don't worry." Layla explained, almost reading my thoughts.
"Hey! How'd you know I was thinking that? Wait are you a mind reader?"
Layla laughed. "No, I'm not a mind reader, but you sure looked confused about something and I just guessed it was the party."
"I thought you didn't like doing these sorts of things Layla, why are you coming?" Warren asked, he had slowed down to listen to the near end of the conversation.
"Well, you're right, I normally would steer clear from these sorts of things, but Will really wanted to go… and last time he got roped into hosting one of these parties… well let's just say it didn't turn out too well…"
"Oh yeah…" Warren seemed to have figured out why Layla was coming and walked ahead to catch up with Will to continue their conversation.
"What happened?" I asked curious. Warren rarely told me anything about his time at Sky High; I only ever heard a few complaints.
"Well there was this whole fiasco with the villain Royal Pain." Layla started. "She posed as a student at Sky High and well things happened…"
"What sort of things?"
For the rest of the walk Layla explained all that had happened last year.
"I'm surprised that Warren didn't tell you the details."
"No, all I knew is that he helped you try and make Will jealous, and he helped save Sky High and all that."
"Oh… you know about me trying to make Will jealous… oh that's embarrassing…" Layla mumbled under her breath.
"No, it's okay. Because of that he now has actual friends." I smiled as I looked over to see Will and Warren bickering about sports or something. Instead of his normally grumpy face, he looked relaxed. These people really were good for him.
"Hey, looks like we're here!" Will exclaimed loudly over his shoulder as he pointed to the house in front of us.
The house was huge. We could hear the music blearing from where we stood, and there were bright lights strung above the door. Through the windows, we could see silhouettes of kids dancing, laughing and drinking. Well here goes nothing… I thought as we walked to the front door.
A/N: Well, things are gonna get pretty crazy now! ^_^ wonder who's gonna be at the party... ahahaha just about everybody... including me! ... okay maybe not me... but a japanese version of me maybe... I hope you enjoyed the chapter! and thank you so much to everyone who has reviewed, faved, and put this on alert! you guys are all awsome! until next time!
~Lily Nozuka
