A/N: Here is a treat for everyone who has patiently waited for me. Two chapters in one day! Chapter seven shall be posted in two days time. Thank you for following this story and the favourites if you did so.
Chapter Six - Warren's Conflict
The next Tuesday finds the school's resident bullies, Speed and Lash tormenting my brother yet again. When will they grow up? I ask myself as I stand up from my usual perch on the ground when I get off the 'bus'. Speed zooms around with Ron's hat, passing it to Lash who then throws it into the mud and runs off, racing up the stairs with Speed. I roll my eyes at their antics before linking arms with Luci to go walk to our lockers.
At least I look better today than I did yesterday with my eyes still puffy from the night before and the awkwardness of the morning with Dad not speaking to me yet again, adding a slight sadness to my actions. Sure, Dad still hasn't spoken a word to me since then, but at least I feel a bit more sure of myself with the help from Luci and even, surprisingly Luke, who's become attached to Luci's side whenever out of class. I found it hilarious, yet cute, when I first saw it at lunch time yesterday.
So far this week I have done a fairly good job of avoiding any confrontations with Warren, but the looks he's sending me are so confusing that it's tempting to just march right up to him and ask what the hell is going on. His reactions to me last week and this week have been all over the place. First he likes me, going as far as to even smile at me, but then he goes and gives me whiplash by turning that heart melting smile into a fierce glare that sends shivers down my spine.
After my embarrassingly horrifying bump into him, where Luci quite literally threw me at him, he's been avoiding me like the plague. And now? Honestly I don't even know. I'm not even sure he knows anymore. Sometimes he's glaring at me and other times he's almost sweet. Like when he saved me from Penny yesterday only to then storm off like I'd somehow pissed him off again somehow. It confuses me to no end. Even Luke has no idea himself and he's a boy too. Aren't boys meant to understand each other? Sure girls don't, but surely boys would. But apparently not. Warren is an enigma to all.
With my current state of mind lost in my thoughts, I don't notice where I am going until my trustworthy best friend Luci, guides me straight into a wall causing me to drop my bag and all of my books to go spilling out… or at least I think it's a wall. It's definitely solid enough although a little warm. But the two hands on either side of me, steadying me and making sure I don't fall over, paints a different picture. One of cute pyromaniacs with smoldering brown eyes and large biceps clad in leather holding me in place.
Daring to look up, I'm met with the worried expression of Warren Peace no further than three inches away. Before I can help it, my face is dusting over with a light shade of pink in my embarrassment. I want to say something, but no sound passes through my lips that I notice Warren glance at before quickly looking back into my eyes that are slightly clouded over now. His mouth opens as though to say something, but before he can get more than a single syllable out, the bell is ringing, signaling the beginning of lunch. Breaking eye contact, Warren suddenly clenches his hands tighter around my arms before letting go and abruptly walking away, leaving me there alone, for I never noticed when Luke and Luci walked away with my books and bag.
The hall quickly crowds with people flocking to the cafeteria and I follow them in my confused haze, hoping to somehow find Luke or Luci so I could just sit down and gather my thoughts, for they are currently running around rampant, like headless chickens in my head. Thankfully, after grabbing a tray and something random from the lunch line, I find Luci already sitting at a table with our group of… friends, I guess I can call them now. Luci spots me as I walk up to them and grabs my arm, promptly making me sit next to her and my tray fall deftly onto the table. It's a good thing that I only grabbed a sandwich and bottle of water while I was moving through the line like a zombie. Apparently I'm a logically thinking zombie. Nice to know.
Looking at her, it's clear Luci thinks she somehow helped me by shoving me in front of Warren, just to leave me there alone with him in the middle of an empty hallway. There is no way I am ever going to tell her that she's right. Unfortunately, I think she can tell just by the blush that is still lightly covering my face.
Sitting there, I quietly listen to the conversation around me, silently reacting in all the right places while I stare over Charlie's shoulder and into deep brown eyes that occasionally glance up from the magazine they're reading to look into mine. The shared glances confuse, yet enamor me to no end. I'm not sure as to what he's feeling, but at least he isn't glaring at me anymore.
Everything seems to be going as usual, until a tray of food goes spilling all over Warren and his belongings. I cringe at the thought of whoever has to face him at this moment. That is, until I glance over and notice it's Will who's standing there, almost shaking in fear. I watch, dreading the outcome as Warren stands up from his table, leaving all his belongings there and glares at my brother's small form. I stand up with the rest of my table in anticipation for the unavoidable fight. I almost feel like hitting Will myself, though, when he brings up Barron Battle. Warren and I may not have spoken much before, nor have we been on the best of grounds lately, but even I know never to mention him in front of his son. "I'm sorry that my dad put your dad in jail, but…" He has to say it in the worst possible way as well, doesn't he?
"Shut up, Will!" I shout in desperation, hoping in vain to stop this fight before it begins.
"Stay out of this Jamie!" Warren says in a low voice to me. I stare at him in shock at the use of my first name while he grabs Will by his shirt and whispers threateningly to him. I gasp as Warren powers up mere inches away from Will's face and lets go of his shirt, managing to only singe it a little. Will slowly backs up after Warren lets go of him, but he isn't far enough away as Warren launches a fireball at him. Everyone not standing up already does so at this as I watch Will grab a lunch tray and block the attack just in time. Thank you Mom for passing your fast reflexes onto Will and I.
Hearing chanting near me, I glare at anyone close enough with the help of Luci, effectively shutting them up. I watch on in horror as Warren lobs another flaming projectile at Will that he barely evades and it's now that I truly wish I could go back in time and somehow do something, anything, to stop this from happening in the first place. Fireball after fireball is sent hurtling towards my twin and I feel useless. Why isn't anyone doing anything to stop this? At that thought, I realise that I'm not doing anything either, other than watching everything unfold. Stepping forward, I yell for them to stop, but all it does is make Warren falter while Will goes running off in some random direction only to fall over.
Warren calmly walks up to Will and I follow along with the rest of the crowd, stopping only when I see Warren power up. But this time it's more than just his hands. I watch, partially fascinated as the flames flicker, covering most of his arms and I can't help the strange feeling that erupts in the pit of my abdomen. But as he raises his hands up higher to attack, I realise I can't let this happen.
"Warren!" I call, gaining his attention long enough for him to look in my direction and a flicker of an unknown emotion pass over his face that I don't get enough time to recognise before we hear a cry from Layla.
"Will, get out of there!" Will crawls under a table, making the anger cover Warren's features again as he see's this. Raising his arms above his head, he joins the flames together, creating a large fireball and throws it at the table Will just hid under, effectively melting the end of it. I watch on as Warren jumps onto the table and throws small flames down the sides of it, forcing Will forward and to the other end of the table. I truly start to panic now as I watch this happen. Without thinking, I follow Warren onto the table as he nears the end. The only thought running through my mind is that I have to stop this somehow, before either of them get's hurt, since no one else will do a thing.
"Where's your Sidekick, Sidekick?" Warren yells at Will and I watch as Will's friends all stand up and walk forward.
"Right here!" Zack calls with Ethan backing him up, "Yeah." Layla and Magenta standing beside them, watching me.
Taking off my right glove as I quietly sneak up behind Warren, I hold it in my left hand and slowly reach out my right hand towards the back of his neck. He powers up once more and I take a final step towards him, bringing myself onto the same table as him now.
"Leave them alone!" I hear Will yell before the table starts shaking beneath me. I let out a small shriek in fear as the table lifts up high into the air, almost knocking me off. I grab a hold of the only thing nearby, which happens to be Warren's leather clad arm, thankfully flame free as they went out mere seconds ago. He looks on in shock at me, but upon spotting that I'm about to fall off the alarmingly high table, he grabs my arm currently not clinging to him for dear life and yanks me forward, towards him and into the safety of his arms. Grabbing a hold of his shirt, I close my eyes, not wanting to see how high we are anymore. The thought alone making me sick with fear. Warren wraps an arm around me, with the other outstretched to keep balance on the shaking table.
"Will, no!" I hear Layla shout randomly, but it's too late, for I'm suddenly lifted higher and the table below my feet completely disappears. Before I know it, I'm flying through the air at alarming speeds with the only thing to ground myself being Warren's solid body. I scream after opening my eyes for a second only to close them again right after seeing the lower part of the cafeteria ceiling no further than a meter away and enclosing rapidly. I brace for the impact, taking small comfort in the second arm that wraps around me and slightly maneuvers me so that I'm not going for a head on collision with it. I may be a Super, but I don't have invulnerability like my dad. A knock like that may very well have paralyzed me, or worse.
Unfortunately, the small amount of movement doesn't stop me from colliding with the ceiling and my head and back from receiving a rather large hit. But at least it didn't kill me like it possibly could have. For that I am thankful. Before long, I'm no longer flying, but falling through the air as we descend upon the ground. Deciding not to open my eyes this time, I have no warning before I'm landing on something firm and warm. It takes me a few seconds in my pain and fear clouded mind to register that I've landed on top of a body and even longer to remember just who's it is.
Groaning, I clutch my head, refusing to move any other part of my body. As I open my eyes, I'm greeted by a black shirt and leather jacket. Slowly looking up, I'm met with concerned brown eyes and a handsome frown. Even in this state, I can't help but admire everything jaw droppingly gorgeous about Warren Peace. It's pathetic, I know, but it won't stop. Our moment is soon over because, Will, upon realising what he just did, runs over to check if I am okay. Needless to say, Warren didn't take it so well. After helping me up, Warren starts yelling at Will again, but this time not for the same reason.
"Is this how you treat your sister, Stronghold? It's no wonder she wants to be friends with me when she has a brother like you. Not if this is how she's treated at home." His tone holds disgust. Several audible gasps are heard around us, but all I can focus on is Warren's hand on my back and the warm, fuzzy feeling it brings me. That and the splitting headache I currently have from that collision with the ceiling.
"What? No, I don't..." Something must have entered his mind then for he stops talking and a cringe spreads across his face. But then it changes and before I can register what is going on, he's yelling at us. "Wait. You know him, Jamie?! That's Barron Battle's son! Get away from him!" I feel Warren's hand on my back heat up, but not to a burning extent as he pulls me closer, bringing his arm around my waist.
"I've heard enough. You're not worth my time, Stronghold." Warren growls with a sneer, turning around and walking away, leading me along with him. Confused, I follow along without complaint, unsure of what just happened. All I know is that my head is killing me at the moment and the rest of my body isn't faring so well either. Not even Warren's hand on my waist is enough now to distract me from the pain. Now, normally I would have stood up for Will back there, but as it was he had just thrown me across the cafeteria where I had knocked my head pretty badly and possibly gained a concussion... also, hello! Major eye candy practically holding me in his arms at the moment! So please forgive me if I'm being a little out of the ordinary at the moment.
As we walk by, the crowd parts before us and watches on as Warren leads me out of the cafeteria, down the hallway and towards a door that reads the words 'Nurse's Office' with a red cross in a blue circle. Without bothering to knock, Warren shoves open the door, surprising an elderly lady and walking me forward a little more to guide me onto a bed.
"Mr. Peace, what are you doing here?" She asks in a worried tone, looking back and forth between him and I.
"Obviously, I'm here because Jamie needs your attention." Warren says, leaning against a table and crossing his arms. Frowning, the lady walks over to me and moves my ungloved hand away from my head to inspect it and in my sluggish mind I'm just able to register that she thankfully is wearing gloves herself. Don't want to go taking away the powers of the person trying to help me now, do I?
"What happened?" I close my eyes and wince at the small amount of pressure the nurse places on my head where it hurts the most.
"Her brother tossed her across the cafeteria." I can hear the anger in his voice and the sharp intake of breath that the nurse does upon hearing this.
"Twin." I say without really thinking since my thoughts are a little muddled up at the moment. I hear a small noise that sounds a little like a scoff from Warren's direction, but I can't exactly tell for sure as there's also a strange noise I can hear accompanied by an odd feeling in my head.
"As I thought. You have a concussion, deary." She confirms my suspicions and I groan in complaint, bringing my hand back up to my head where it hurts the most, "Thankfully it's not severe. Just don't fall asleep for the next few hours, and make sure someone wakes you up every two hours to make sure your reflexes are going back to normal." I go to nod, but after moving my head a little and realising it hurt too much to do so, I just sat still until someone knocks on the door. I hear someone open the door and a hushed conversation that I can't make out before the nurse speaks up once more.
"Mr. Peace, could you please look after Miss. Stronghold while I go take care of this?" She asks, but I don't hear a response as she leaves and closes the door.
Slowly, I lean back until I come into contact with a wall and rest against it. Opening my eyes, I'm greeted with an irritatingly bright light that makes me squint to block it out a little. I'm starting to relax a little, until a deep voice interrupts it. "No falling asleep." I look around the room to see that Warren is standing up and walking over to me.
"Ah... right!" I sit up straighter, but wince upon stretching injured muscles and moving my head too quickly. My sudden movement makes me so dizzy, I almost fall off the bed if is isn't for Warren's fast reflexes reaching out to steady my shoulders. Making sure that I'm able to sit upright by myself, he takes a seat next to me on the bed.
"I can't believe Stronghold treats you like that." Warren says in an angry voice and I somehow realise that he's unnervingly close to me. It takes me a few seconds to register what Warren said, but when I do, I feel like shit for not defending my brother before.
"He doesn't usually. I don't think... he knew I was on there... until it was too late," I'm slightly surprised that I can fully say that, even if it is a little bit staggered with a few breaks in between. Warren doesn't say anything so I start to stumble out a few sentences, desperate for a reaction, "We usually have eachothers back. I kept his secret from Dad... and he defends me whenever Dad gets angry with me... for slipping up with my powers." The silence nearly kills me as I continue rambling, spilling my troubles to him just hoping for a reaction. Any reaction.
"Dad hates my powers. He tries to avoid me whenever possible, scared I might render him powerless by accident. Not that I blame him. He favors Will, even now that he knows Will doesn't have super-strength... Well I guess he does now..." That thought bugs me for some reason, but I'm unable to register why at the moment, so I continue on, "I'll probably get the whole, 'be careful around Will with your powers' speech again. It's so stupid that I can't even take these stupid things off at home!" I end up yelling, tears in my eyes as I throw the stupid glove that I'm still holding in my left hand, at the wall opposite us, in frustration. I just sit there quietly. Slightly panting and trying to hold back the tears that threaten to fall any second now.
"You done now?" Warren asks and I just stare down at my hands, one still gloved and the other one shining a little where my ring is, and nod. He sighs in, what seems like frustration, "It seems to me that you have some serious daddy issues, Princess." I can't help bursting out in laughter at the irony of the situation.
"Look who's talking." It's only after I finish speaking that I realise what I just said. My eyes open wide and I slap my hand over my mouth. I'm about to apologise when he lets out a low chuckle, surprising me.
"Yeah, I guess you're right," He admits, leaning back against the wall like I was mere minutes ago, "Looks like we're both a couple of messed up teens with daddy issues." I look over to him and smile.
"Does this mean you don't hate me anymore? That I can actually go back to the Paper Lantern when you have a shift?" I ask, my speech gradually improving.
He smirks and turns his body towards me. "I don't know. How badly do you want it, Princess?" My heart stutters a little at the use of my nickname as I look into his eyes. I watch in wonder as his hand reaches forward and grabs my chin lightly, and although I can feel the leather that covers most of his hand, when his fingers brush lightly against my skin, I can't help it as my breath catches in my throat. My thoughts leave me with only the realisation of his close proximity and his heat radiating over me.
"So badly." I whisper, completely lost in his eyes. He leans in closer to me, until his face is so close that I can feel his breath on my quivering lips, and I watch as his dark brown eyes quickly lower to glance at them. Biting my lower lip, I can see his eyes cloud over a little as he uses his grip on my chin to bring my face closer to his. He looks back up into my eyes and I'm not entirely sure what he sees in them, but he doesn't pull away.
Even though I have no idea what's going on right now, I can't help but lower my gaze down to his own full lips and watch in fascination as he runs his tongue over them. I can feel my face heat up as I worry my bottom lip, wanting so desperately to lean over a little more and close the gap between us. Are we about to kiss? Looking back up, I see that his own eyes are downcast again and I can feel the hand on my chin lightly move along my jaw, to cup my face.
Hoping I'm reading the situation correctly and I don't just have something on my lip, I move my hand closer to his. My fingers brush against his and the sudden influx of familiar knowledge causes me to flinch back. Stupidly, I had just brought my exposed hand over to his and touched the only part of his hand not covered in leather.
Suddenly, my eyes open wide in realisation. Here I sit, next to Warren Peace, the man who hates my dad to the core and dislikes my twin brother so much that they only just got out of a fight... yet still, he treats me nicely, and I'm stealing all of his powers away from him in a single touch. I pull back my hand as if stung and manage to stutter out, "I. I'm sorry!" with my face still in his surprisingly gentle grip.
My hand stays in the air, unsure of where to go as I stare openly at his face that now shows mild annoyance at what I've done. At least, that's what I think, until he reaches out his free hand and grabs mine from mid air, confusing me and leaving a slight flutter in my chest.
"Shut up." Warren whispers in a deep, husky voice, using our entwined hands and the one on my jaw to pull me forward the rest of the way, crashing our lips together. A fire ignites within my chest and my mind goes blank as Warren's lips devour mine. Sucking, licking, grazing, biting and just doing whatever he likes to them as I try my best to not just sit there limp.
My eyes flutter closed after watching his do the same. The hand on my jaw moves to the back of my neck, pulling me closer than I thought possible as the scent of firewood and spices fill my senses. I move my free hand up to grab a fist full of Warren's shirt because I need something to desperately hold onto since Warren keeps on stealing my breath away, making me dizzier with every kiss. The way he holds me, like he doesn't want me to pull away make the moment even more intense and to be honest, I don't want to pull away either. This is my first kiss and I want to enjoy it for as long as possible, because I have no idea how Warren is going to react once we pull apart.
Eventually, after an unknown period of time, we pull away. But not by choice, I quickly discover, when my mind clears enough to notice Warren glaring behind me, even if he is slightly panting. I blush upon seeing his flushed state and swollen lips as a result of our previous activities and I secretly hope I kind of look the same. Turning around, I am greeted with the furious eyes of my brother, Will. I gulp, knowing that look means no good.
"What do you think you're doing with my little sister, Peace?!" Will demands, shoving me behind him almost making me fall over.
"It's called kissing, Stronghold, and it's none of your business." Warren continues to glare at Will as he stands up and walks over to Will, towering over him. I can't help the blush that spreads across my face at his confirmation of our activities. This means he actually meant to kiss me... I hope.
"It is my business what you do with my little sister just to get to me." Warren and I both stop and stare at William, in shock at his words. I turn my gaze to Warren and stare at him, begging it to not be true. He see's and his eyes soften slightly before rounding on my brother again.
"What makes you think that everything revolves around you, Stronghold? Unlike my feelings toward you, I actually like Jamie. She's more down to earth than you and your damn father you worship." He argues, making me blush. Warren 'likes' me? That thought makes it harder to focus for a moment, but I watch on as Warren goes to power up, when all that can be heard is the rattling of the chains on his pants. Will flinches at first, but then laughs upon realising what happened.
"That's what you get for kissing my sister." Will chuckles and, although I know he doesn't mean anything by it, his words still hurt me.
I think Warren notices, because he changes his cause of action. Smirking, he says, "It was worth it." His statement has Will stumbling for words and me embarrassed like crazy as I look into his eyes.
Will seems to decide now that a more direct route is a better choice, as he clenches his hand into a fist and goes to punch Warren square in the face. My fear for Warren's safety now that he doesn't have his powers, including the invulnerability that goes along with it, make me react quickly and I do the only thing I can think of in time since I can't grab Will's hand and stop him myself without a huge risk of missing. I release the built up power in my hands in a pulse, not really caring how much power I put behind it at the moment, and watch as it hits Will a fraction before he makes contact with the startled Warren.
It works and Will's hit barely makes an impact. All three of us just stand there in shock for a moment, not fully comprehending what just occurred. Silence reigns around us for a moment until a loud shriek can be heard coming from nearby. Then suddenly, more and more yells find their way to their ears snapping Warren and me out of it while Will still stares at his fist in shock.
"Thanks." Warren says, stepping around Will's frozen body and towards me where I stand, still shaken up by the fact that Will could do that. He could have possibly killed Warren since he doesn't know his own strength yet, judging from the office door that's almost ripped in half. Before Warren can do or say anything more, someone clears their throat behind me. Quickly turning around, I almost lose my balance and land on the floor if not for Warren's hands on my arms, steadying me yet again. There, standing in the destroyed doorway is Principal Powers. A disapproving look on her face. I glance up at Warren, over my shoulder and gulp. We're in trouble now.
A/N: This chapter has been edited by my lovely Beta, av23~