Disclaimer: Still with the not owning Sky High.
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Ivy didn't sleep that night. She left Warren's after she knew he was asleep, and she returned to her own home. She stood in front of her mirror staring at her eyes for hours. Watching the colors swim in and out of each other occasionally fading to back to silver. The colors were thick, and rich. They were fluid and moved with ease, instead of the fast, thin pace that water held. Although their color had returned the pupils remained split and abnormally dark, with their white outline. The colors slid in and out of each other, the way snakes in a pit do.
Overlapping, entangling, confusing the ends of the lines until it's just a blur. A mass of colors that has no distinct beginning or end. For what seemed like hours Ivy stood staring at her eyes. How she had missed seeing color in light. When she finally willed herself to move from the mirror, her phone rang, her alarm went off, and the wind and rain knocked the vines that grew around the fire escape against her window.
Warren had woken up to an empty, cold bed. No note, no nothing. She was just gone. He searched his entire house to see if maybe she had just gone downstairs, but when he found nothing, he called her cell phone. Once. Twice. Three times. She never answered. He texted her. He emailed her. He tried in every way to get in contact with her, and he got no response. Normally, he knew he'd be angry that she was ignoring him, and dejecting his phone calls, but he also knew that should she want to talk or contact him, she knew how. So he settled on showering sullenly, trying not to pout, and failing miserably.
Ivy searched through her clothes, knowing that she still had blue and green hidden somewhere. Her eyes continued to fade in and out of their ocean state and the silver state. She had noticed after her shower that the silver had begun to bleed into the ocean and had become part of the swirling chaos; a thin strand of silver here, a speck of dark gray there. She smiled at the new form her eyes began to accept, and returned to her search for her colors. Dark blue skinny jeans, her infamous black heeled boots, and a short-sleeved turtle-neck; dark turquoise with thick black stitching, a form-fitting piece that accented her newly recovered eyes.
Warren didn't feel like black. He didn't feel dark and depressed. He felt... He wasn't sure. But it wasn't sad. He pulled on one of the two pairs of dark navy jeans with his combat boots, with a white t-shirt to wear under a black, short-sleeved button down, that he of course didn't button. He wore his leather jacket, and debated whether or not to pull his hair back. Figuring the rain wouldn't let it stay back for very long, he gave up and let it stay down. Checking the time, he grabbed his school bag and darted out the door.
Ivy grabbed a longer black pea-coat. It had a large hood that she pulled up instinctively as she left her apartment. Standing at the bus stop in the rain, she adjusted her bag on her shoulder and pulled her hood over her head farther. Seeing the bus round the corner, she sighed, thankful that she could escape the heavy rain. She loved the rain, but only when she was willingly being drenched. Not so much when it was out of her control. She stared at the dark clouds and sky, and decided that that was not how she wanted to spend her first color-filled day in years. She looked up through the window, and pulled as much light from the sky as she could, brightening it, making it glow a soft blue with gray dispersed throughout the clouds.
Warren stood by his locker with Layla and Magenta as they talked about their holiday breaks and how neither of them understood why the group hadn't gotten together at all. Trent and Taylor walked by on their way to class and stopped to say hello. Lash had finally come down off his high horse, and had begun to talk to Layla again, not much, but it was better than nothing. He and Speed made their own way over, and Taylor and Speed hugged and kissed; apparently they'd made amends over the break and all was forgiven. Warren raised an eyebrow at them, but didn't say anything. He turned his attention to Lash who was talking to Trent about some new video game that had come out, and when Lash noticed that Warren was looking at him, he paused the conversation and took a few steps over to the pyro.
"I, uh, I've been trying to find a good way to apologize for--" He gestured down to Lash's arm, which was still in bandages.
Lash smiled at Warren. "Don't even worry about it."
Warren cocked his head sideways in confusion, but Lash merely extended his good hand out towards him. He smirked and grabbed the lanky arm in a hand-to-wrist shake.
Will and Zack were the last of the group to arrive going straight to their respective girlfriends. They all stood and talked telling hilarious stories about New Years Eve, and whatever holiday they celebrated. Zach asked Warren what he did on Christmas after everyone else had shared their plans, and Warren felt his face pale a little.
"Nothing." He gulped hard, but no one seemed to notice. "My mom's in Germany for a little longer."
"Oh, I'm so sorry, Warren! You should have called me! I'm sure my parents wouldn't have minded if you came over." Layla smiled cheerfully.
"It's raining cats and dogs, and she's still as happy as a clown." Trent laughed at Layla's fallen, pouty expression.
"Speaking of cats." Speed nodded his head in Ivy's direction as she walked down the hallway.
Her hood was down, but her face was lowered to the ground. Her coat was buttoned at the very top, but even so, Warren saw the Ruby paw around her neck. He made no move to go towards her, as she obviously wasn't changing her daily routine. Her locker was just down the hall from Warren's, so when she stopped to take off the coat, they all noticed she was using her left wrist.
Taylor's entire face lit up at the sight and she ran down the hall to Ivy. "You're using your wrist! How does it feel? Is it doing OK? That's so good, Ivy!" Ivy ignored her, and shoved the coat into the small locker. She slammed it shut and readjusted her black wrist guards. When Ivy finally looked up, she didn't look at the blonde in front of her. Her stare hit Dara Cane, who was standing but a few feet from Ivy at her own locker, just across the hall. Dara closed her locker, and turned to leave with her friends, when she saw Ivy staring at her. Dara's eyes grew wide in shock for a moment, before turning to a pleasant smile and waving, not noticing that Ivy's eyes were different.
In color, Ivy could see how much Dara looked like her brother. The same black hair, but with light chestnut eyes instead of green. Dara made her way down the hall with her friends in Warren's direction, and when Ivy's eyes landed on Warren's, she felt her breath catch and momentarily stop.
Warren saw her from down the hall, and even being so far away, he could see her eyes were pools of shimmering aquatic colors. He remembered her staring up at him with those eyes. And he remembered the white fire that he had seen from the corners of his own eyes. He rubbed his left shoulder gently, massaging the claw marks she'd left sometime the night before.
Ivy reached up and stroked her paw with her thumb and forefinger before leaving Taylor standing by her locker. Taylor shook her head and returned to the group.
"Anything?" Will looked falsely hopeful.
"Did it look like she said anything?" Taylor's expression had fallen to discontent and upset.
Warren reached up to unzip his jacket, so he could take it off and let it air dry from the rain. He had tried drying it himself once. Didn't care to risk it again. He hung it inside his locker as much as he could before coming back to the conversation his friends were having behind him. He turned around to face them, and all conversation stopped immediately, all eyes watching him.
"Warren." Magenta looked like she were about to die from holding in laughter.
"Rat." He looked back at her.
"White." She bit her lip to keep from smiling, and Warren momentarily remembered how Ivy used to do that.
"Purple." He stared at her.
"You." She stopped biting her lip, and let a huge smile cross her face.
"Me." He picked his bag off the floor. "See you guys later."
He left the group, who was still standing in awe at the site of Warren Peace in white and not at work.
Ivy's first few classes passed faster than she expected, and before she realized, she was entering her third period class. She hadn't used her serum in the morning, and she hadn't worn gloves, either, so the day had been quite interesting navigating the halls during passing periods. Almost burned more than her share of people. She took a seat in her class, and right as the bell rang, Principal Powers opened the door, and spoke to the teacher for a moment. Worry passed over Mr. Anu's face, but then he nodded. Powers called for Ivy to get her bag and follow. She brought Ivy to the gym, where her English teacher Jamie Esther stood, dressed in black Jujitsu robes. The combat arena had been pulled out, and Evelyn handed Ivy her own robes to change into. Ivy had been careful to avoid looking at her aunt, and she had no intention of changing it. Less than five minutes later Ivy emerged in her robes. She stood on the mat with Jamie, who was wearing a pair of gloves and a long sleeved shirt under the robes, just in case.
"You'll be training in here with Jamie during third period from now until we decide your back to full strength." Ivy nodded, not lifting her eyes from the floor. Jamie raised an eyebrow at Evelyn, who shrugged in confusion, before focusing her attention back on Ivy.
"I assume you still remember the basics, since you've been teaching Mr. Peace?" Ivy nodded again. "Have you used your left wrist at all? Even in the slightest way during simulations with him?" Ivy shook her head. "During simulations on your own?" Ivy hesitated before nodded a bit. Jamie nodded an "OK."
"It's OK to be scared, Ivy. You don't need to worry. We're going to fix this." Evelyn forced a smile at her niece.
Ivy lifted her eyes off the floor to look at the Principal. She felt anger growing in the pit of her stomach. I am not scared. I can't afford to scared.
Evelyn and Jamie both gasped seeing Ivy's swirling eyes stare back at them. "Ivy... Your eyes. They're not gray anymore." Evelyn struggled to find something to say, and settled for stating the obvious. Ivy continued to watch them as they stared in shock at her. Jamie could see that they were making Ivy uncomfortable, and that she was feeling like she was part of a circus. Come one, come all. Come see the freak. She growled under her breath, and Jamie put her hand on Evelyn's shoulder.
"We should start, Evelyn." Jamie smiled at Ivy, who was visibly relieved.
"Oh, of course, of course." Principal Powers shook her head slightly before looking back at Ivy. "You'll continue to be allowed in here during fourth period, if you want. If not, take that period as a free period." She looked at Jamie, who had a mirroring expression of Evelyn's worried frown, and they exchanged silent "Be carefuls" and "farewells".
Evelyn left the gym, and Jamie smiled at Ivy. A genuine, pure smile. "Let's start."
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See, Miser! Warren grew up a little! Maybe? =\
Review it?
