Disclaimer: I do not own Sky High.

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The morning was crisp, with hardly any clouds in the sky. Ivy pulled her Guess jacket closer, and cursed herself for not wearing long sleeves. She checked the time on her phone. The serum wears off at five. Don't forget. She and Lash waited at the bus stop arguing about stripes versus polka dots when the bus came. They hopped on and spotted Zach, Magenta, and Warren. Lash stopped cold when he saw Warren staring at him. Ivy turned to look behind her when Lash stopped talking.

"Jordan, it's fine. Come on." She held out her hand, and he smiled at her weakly. He took it and followed her to the seats Zach saved. She surrendered the window seat to a scared Lash, and said hello to her friends.

"He didn't hurt you, right? You're okay? You're alright?" Zach grabbed her arms, pushed her sleeves up, and seemed to be looking for bruises or injuries. Ivy and Lash both laughed and she shook her head.

"I thought you said you were staying at Will's." Warren didn't look at her, but went back to staring out the window.

"Plans changed." Her words were clipped and her voice had a harshness none of her friends had heard before. Ivy ignored his grunt, and returned to conversation with the others. A few stops later Will and Layla boarded.

"Hey, you survived!" Will high-fived Ivy, and did a cool-guy-hand-shake with Lash.

"Thanks. Good to know you guys trust me." He was playfully sarcastic and trying very hard not to laugh.

"We have good reason not to trust you. But we're working on it." Layla smiled and Magenta nodded in agreement.

The bus took off into the air, and the conversation grew louder due to the excited screams of their fellow riders.

"Everyone's going to Homecoming, right?" Magenta looked worried. "I don't want to be the only one."

"Uh, hello? Boyfriend?" Zach gestured to himself flamboyantly, causing Lash the snort at the ridiculous movement.

"Aside from you. You don't count." Magenta turned back to the others.

"Of course we are. It's our Senior Homecoming!" Layla was obviously anxious, and even Will seemed excited. "You guys are coming, right?" She turned her attention to Ivy and Lash, who both looked at each then turned back to Layla.

"I guess, so." Ivy looked so bewildered that it was Will's turn to snort with laughter. "If I'm going, you're coming, too." She nudged Lash, and he groaned but eventually agreed.

"What about you, Warren?" Layla stood as the bus landed and everyone fought to get off as fast as possible.

"Doubt it." He stalked off without saying goodbye.

Magenta moved to walk with Ivy ahead of others after she growled at him and began walking towards the school. "You okay?"

"He's so frustrating. I can't believe how stubborn he is." Ivy shook her head.

"What happened? What'd he say to you last night?" Magenta looked at Ivy as Layla moved up to walk with them as the boys starting talking about how ridiculous the dance dress code was.

"What'd who say about what?" She poked her head in between the two girls.

"I told him that he needed to talk to someone about his dad just to talk about it, and he yelled at me about how he didn't need to talk to anyone, and how he doesn't need anyone at all." She shook her head again. "I can't believe I actually cared about that asshole." She clenched her fist.

"Harsh." Layla turned to Magenta. "Warren?"

"Who else?" They both turned back to Ivy who sighed again.

"But Lash's place was okay?" Layla changed the topic before Ivy got too upset.

She started laughing. "He's not too bad, actually. We had a good time."

Magenta smiled and elbowed her gently. "How good a time?"

"Oh, gross! Not Jordan, not ever!" Ivy pushed Magenta hard enough to make her stumble a bit. Layla and Magenta both laughed at her response.

"Mhm." Magenta replied smuggly.

"I'm so serious, though." Ivy turned her head to look back at the boys who had fallen far behind them. She saw Lash doing some weird impression of something, and laughed softly to herself.

Her friends continued to look at her, and when she turned her attention back to them, it was Layla's turn to respond with a smug, conspiring, "Mhm."

"Oh, whatever." She playfully stormed off, but the girls caught up with her in no time, laughing loudly.

During lunch the cafeteria seemed more crowded than usual, but tables cleared immediately when Taylor and Speed entered the room, with Lash trailing behind. He saw Ivy and the rest immediately, and wondered what Taylor would say if he went to hang out with them. The three passed by Ivy's table, and she glanced up at Lash. He gave a small smile, and she nodded that she understood there were something things he just wasn't ready to do. Sitting with them openly was one. Layla waved a little, and Lash hurried to catch up with the other two.

"What? Boyfriend too embarrassed to sit with you?" Warren glared at Ivy.

She turned her head sharply in his direction, but didn't dignify his question with a response.

"Are you staying at his place again?" Will took a sip of his soda.

"I guess so, yeah."

"Why?" Ivy looked at Warren, and a very obvious shadow of anger crossed her face.

"Because unlike you, he cares." She grabbed her bag and left the table.

Layla looked at Warren who just sat there. "Warren!"

"What?" He hissed at her.

She looked taken aback, but quickly recovered. "Stop being an ass, and go talk to her." Zach, Magenta and Will all looked at Layla, shocked that she would be so demanding and mean.

"Why?" He stared at her.

She didn't respond, but her face flushed an angry red, and she went after Ivy.

Outside the cafeteria she spotted Ivy talking with Trent.

"Are you going to Homecoming next week?" Trent took a few books out of his locker.

"I think so. Haven't decided just yet. You?" She leaned against the lockers, playing with the zipper on her side bag.

"Yeah. Save me a dance if you go?"

She laughed and nodded. "Definitely." Ivy saw Layla coming towards her. "I'll talk to you later."

"Later, Ivy." Trent closed his locker and left as Ivy walked over to where Layla had paused.

"I tried to get him to come talk to you, but you know how he is." Layla shrugged apologetically.

Ivy leaned against the row of lockers, and tilted her head upward to look at the ceiling. She rolled around the crown of her head to look at Layla at an odd angle. "I'm so tired of the how he is. He can't keep using his father as an excuse to be a jerk. It just isn't fair to everyone else." She tapped her foot slightly. "It's not fair to me." Layla leaned against the locker next to Ivy. Neither of them noticed Warren had come out of the cafeteria as Ivy had leaned against the locker.

"He just doesn't know how to be... Nice. It's hard for him."

"But he isn't even trying! He used to be so fun, we laughed, we joked, we danced. We'd stay up late making fun of you and Will and how gross you two are." She laughed a little, and Layla blushed. "I don't know what went wrong. I don't know when he stopped wanting to be my friend."

"Well, that's the thing. I think it's the opposite." Layla's blush faded, and she went back to being The Concerned Hippie-Child.

"You lost me." Ivy brought her head back to being straight on her shoulders.

"I think he started to want more than that, and that's why he suddenly pulled away. He tends to do that when he cares about people. Or at least that's what he did with Taylor. He'll never admit it, but everyone else saw it. He cared about her so much, and he got scared and ran. Well, more like stalked off." She shrugged hastily to get back on point. "Anyway, he really backed off, started giving her the cold shoulder, and she dumped him after misreading all of it."

Warren stood a few feet away listening to the entire conversation, wondering to himself how Layla could understand so much, but pretend to know absolutely nothing.

Ivy stomped her foot in frustration. "Great. He's one of those."

"Just give him a little time. I'm sure he'll get over whatever he's got going on, and he'll realize what he's losing."

Ivy looked at Layla, face unreadable. "He can't lose me if he never had me. And at this rate, he never will. I'll see you in PE." She gave Layla a tight squeeze on her shoulder before walking away.

Layla turned around to find herself inches away from Warrens' angry face. "Oh god." She backed away in terror of what he'd heard, and what he'd do.

"Stay out of my business, Layla." He breathed her name venomously, and stepped around her to go down the hall.

Layla slammed her back against the locked behind her. "Crap." She put her face in her hands for a minute, before running them over her hair, taking a deep breath, and going back to the table.

"What happened? How'd it go?" Magenta looked worried as Layla sat down unhappily.

She shook her head, and leaned it on Will's shoulder, closing her eyes. He put his arm around her and kissed her forehead, before looking at Magenta and Zach with a highly confused expression. Magenta shook her head and mouthed, "I'll tell you later." Will nodded a bit, and continued to stroke Layla's hair.

After school was out, Ivy went to talk to her aunt for a few minutes to give her a quick update, even though it had only been a day. Magenta and Layla gave Zach and Will the short and dirty about Warren and Ivy's current rivalry. The four of them sat under a tree waiting for Ivy, when Taylor, Speed and Lash came out of the building. Taylor sent a ice spike towards a small freshman and laughed hysterically with Speed when the boy ran towards to bus.

"I forgot my wallet in my locker. I'll catch you guys later." Lash turned to leave, when Speed stopped him.

"What's going on, dude?"

Lash turned back to face them. "Wuh?" He tried to look confused, and knew he failed.

"You've been so weird the entire year, man. What's different?"

"Yeah, Lash. Don't like us anymore?" Taylor draped her arm over Speed as if he was her property, and faked a pout.

"I don't know what you're talkin' about, man. I just forgot my wallet." He shook his head.

The door behind Lash opened, and Ivy came out with Principal Powers at her side. Lash turned around to see Powers give Ivy a small hug before saying goodbye. Ivy passed by Taylor, Speed and Lash and smiled at them.

"What a bitch." Taylor's hand froze solid, and tried desperately not to attack Ivy in front of the Principal.

"I'll see you guys on Monday." Lash disappeared inside the building, and Taylor and Speed left to catch one of the buses home.

Ivy went over to her friends and sat with them. "My aunt is so not happy that I'm at Lash's instead of Warren's."

Layla frowned. "I can understand why, but still."

Ivy shrugged. "I kinda explained what's going on with Warren, and she seemed to warm up to me at Lash's a bit more. I'm assuming you've enlightened them?" She pointed at Zach and Will who were in the midst of an intense thumb-war. Magenta and Layla both nodded.

"Can I talk to you?" Ivy turned around, and the others all looked up to see Warren staring intently at Ivy. She looked back at Layla and Magenta and they both looked as surprised as she did. She stood up, leaving her bag behind and started to walk with him a little ways. They stopped towards the center of the lawn, and he turned to face her. His face was dark and solemn. "Everything Layla said to you this afternoon was true."

"You were spying on us?" Ivy looked angry.

"No." He scoffed angrily. "I'm not Zach. I came out of the cafeteria after Layla went to find you, and you guys were talking. I just stopped to listen."

"So you were just eavesdropping? That's much better, good job, Warren." Her posture changed from angry to indignant.

"I'm trying to apologize, you don't have to be a smartass about it." He started to get angry at her attitude.

"I don't want an apology. I don't want anything from you. Just like you said, right? You don't need anyone. Why bother apologizing." She started to walk away but he dropped his bag and grabbed her arm.

He snarled. "Stop walking away from me!"

Her hair flared red, and she tore her arm from his grip. "Let go of me!"

"Talk to me, Ivy. I'm trying, here. Doesn't that count for anything?" He flailed his arms dramatically.

"Yes. It does. But I'm tired of this. I'm tired of thinking that I'm getting closer to you, just to get thrown back and land on my ass!" She was yelling now, her hair fading back to white, but not the normal vibrant white. A different, more sad white that could have passed for cream.

"What do you want me to do? I'm doing the best I can!" He yelled back at her.

"No, Warren! You're not! You're not doing anything! You're standing around like a jackass, waiting for me to make the first move, which is fucking impossible with you, because you don't ever let me!" A tear fell and splashed into a fire droplet. She breathed in and out slowly. "I'm done with this. I'm done fighting with you over something that obviously isn't happening. I really wish it had, but it's just too late. We've run around each other for over two months. Since the first day I told you about my serum... The night we went dancing... I'm through." She scoffed. "I'm dumping you, and we weren't even together. That's awesome." She shook her head sarcastically, and looked at him. She bit her lip, and another tear dropped, bursting into a tiny flame as it hit the grass.

"Ivy." He started to go towards her, and she backed away raising her hands in a surrendering fashion.

"No more Ivy's. No more anything." She dropped her hands. "You made your decision when you locked yourself away from the world. You did it because it was what was best for you, whatever in the hell that was. Now it's my turn to make my decision about what's best for me. And it just doesn't include you. It can't. Not anymore." She took a few steps backwards before turning her back on him and returning to their friends.

Warren stood staring at her. He didn't follow her, he didn't call after her, he didn't set anything on fire. He just stood and watched her go.

Magenta stood to meet Ivy just as Lash walked over.

"What was that about?" Lash pointed back over his shoulder to Warren. "Didn't sound too happy." He looked at Ivy and saw her eyes were a little red and puffy. She ignored Magenta and looked straight at Lash.

He didn't say anything, just pulled her into a deep hug. Magenta reached out and rubbed her back, as if she were a small child. Ivy slowly pulled back from the hug, resting her forehead on Lash's chest. She took a deep breath and pulled away completely.

"You okay?" Magenta didn't take her hand from Ivy's back.

Ivy nodded. "Yeah, I'm fine. Just, uh..." She smirked a little. "Just did what had to be done." She forced a smile and picked up her bag. The remaining three that were sitting gathered their things and Will noticed Warren still standing where Ivy had left him, blankly staring at the grass.

"Ivy, I think I need to..." Will stopped mid-sentence.

"Go. I'd say he probably needs a friend, but I'd be lying. He doesn't need anyone." Will heard the bitterness and sarcasm in her voice, but ignored it and gave her a quick hug before going to his best friend.

"Hey." Warren looked up and Will saw a single tear trace a path down the side of Warren's face. Will picked up Warren's bag, and took his friend to the second of the two buses that were waiting for the remainder of the students. He shot a glance over at Layla who was boarding the first bus with the others. She smiled sadly before getting on the bus. Will followed Warren to the back of the bus, and just sat with him in silence the entire ride back. He walked Warren home, and made sure he was situated and safe.

"Call me if you need anything?" Will gave Warren a pat on the shoulder before leaving the house.

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Ohh, drama. Reviews are welcome, as always.