A/N: Hello, all. I'm going to be focusing on my oneshot for now, to get it out of the way, so there won't be a chapter update for a few days. On the bright side, there will be a oneshot up soon with Warren and another OC of mine. I hope you will all like it.
Well enjoy this chapter for now. :)
Chapter Seven - The Consequence
The three of us are lead down the corridor by Principal Powers. Warren in front, with me by his side. His arm around my waist to stop me from randomly falling over in my dizzy state. Will behind us, a strange look on his face, like he isn't quite so sure if he should be pissed off or scared. It made me worry for him. We are stopped at a simple white, metal door and are ushered in once it slides open. Warren helps me to a seat before promptly standing up straight to glare at Will as he walks in.
"What the hell were you thinking, Stronghold? You could have killed me if Jamie didn't stop you!" Warren shouts, making Will flinch at his words as they truly register with him. His eyes open wide and he stares at his hands disturbed. "Is this what the great Will Stronghold does in his spare time? Go around punching people he doesn't like? What a great way to become a Hero. That is if you even want to be one."
"Mr. Peace, that's quite enough. Sit down," Principal Powers commands. Warren glares once more at Will before taking the seat to my right, "Here at Sky High, we do everything we can to teach you how to use your powers. But what you do with them, now that's up to you. Living up to your father's reputation or trying to live it down is a sad waste of talent. Your talent. Try to keep that in mind the next time you're about to do something stupid. And, Jamie," I look up at her at hearing my name, "Try not to get caught up in other people's drama. I'm sure you have plenty of your own already." I stare at her in shock, not quite believing her words.
"Not to... No one else was doing a thing to stop them! If I hadn't, who would have? Everyone else was too scared or entertained to do anything about it!" I yell at her, too overwhelmed with emotions to hold myself back.
"That's enough, Miss. Stronghold." She demands, but I don't listen. Far too lost in my rage to stop.
"No! In a school that prides itself on the safety of its students, you sure as hell don't seem to be doing enough to keep them safe on the inside. I mean, come on! A room full of Super kids and there's only one staff member looking out for them and it's a Sidekick? Really?! People could have been seriously hurt!" As I say this, I go to stand up, but my equilibrium doesn't respond in time and before I know it, I'm crashing to the floor. The sound of scraping chairs and I'm suddenly being picked up by warm, strong arms. A sigh can be heard and a woman utters a few words that I can't make out before I see her heeled shoes walking out of the room.
A few more muffled words from a much closer distance and I'm being picked up slightly and moved upright, leaning against something solid and moving. More mumbles finally turn into words I can understand.
Or, more like one word I can understand, "Jamie." My name. I'm coherent enough to distinguish that fact at least. Looking up, I see a beautifully angled face, chiseled jaw, plump lips, strong nose and cheeks, then finally, perfectly shaded brown eyes that stare down into mine. Dark brown hair covering us in a kind of veil.
"Hey, handsome." I say with a giddy smile. Warren raises an eyebrow at this, but doesn't comment further. A choking noise can be heard to my right, but I ignore it. All I can really focus on are those amazing lips that were kissing me only a little while ago and how I desperately want them to do so once more. But my brother has other ideas it seems, as he raises his voice loud enough for my fogged up mind to register.
"Get away from her, Peace!" He manages to say while holding out his hands that I realise are for me to take.
"Get over yourself, Stronghold." Warren says, not bothering to look up.
"Can't you two be quiet for once? My head is killing me." I groan, closing my eyes once more. I feel, more than hear, a low chuckle originate from Warren before all goes quiet once more.
We wait there for quite a while, with Warren randomly shaking me to make sure I haven't fallen asleep, until the door once more opens to reveal Principal Powers standing in the doorway looking down at us. Apparently, while I had my eyes closed, Will had moved over to sit on my other side on the floor with us. She clears her throat to gain our attention before telling us that we can finally go home.
Once we are finally allowed out of the horrid, too brightly lit, detention room, Will grabs me by my gloved hand, helping me up from Warren's amazingly warm and comfortable lap, and drags me towards the awaiting yellow flying machine. I don't say anything and just follow, knowing it's best if I just let Will deal with his own conflicting emotions himself since there's no Layla nearby.
Honestly, I'm just glad for a small reprieve from my headache. As we pass by the bus driver, a small part of me realises that, for once, it isn't Ron Wilson. I figure it must be because this is the late bus. For once I don't scream on the way home. My head too filled with worry for Will and tantalising memories of my first kiss to focus on my aversion to heights. Will and I step off the bus in silence and walk home together.
Our silence only broken as Will opens the front door, abruptly ripping it from its hinges. Apparently Will's powers have come back to him and I cringe a little at the sheer amount of it. Carefully he places it back once I walk past him, albeit the wrong way around, and he turns to spot our parents standing in the hallway, hands on hips, looking disappointed at us.
"So, Will, Jamie, anything interesting happen at school today?" Mom asks and I can tell that they already know. I look down in shame at my feet while Will puts on a large smile, either not realising that they already know, or simply far too happy to really care right now.
"Uh... Well, as you may have noticed, I got my powers today!" Will declares happily, lifting up an unimpressed Mom to demonstrate. I can see the proud look in Dad's eyes and know he isn't angry at Will at all. Just me. Like always.
"Yes, we know. Your Principal called." He carefully places her down upon hearing this and looks to Dad for support. I have no idea if he gets it or not, but he continues on either way.
"Okay. Look, it's not... it's not as bad as it sounds. It's actually a really funny, great story." Will tries to defend, but Mom's hearing none of it. Dad on the other hand looks like he's seriously trying to hold himself back from asking questions and pulling his son into a proud hug not surprising me at all.
"You nearly destroyed the school cafeteria." Not wanting to watch anymore of this, I slowly start to edge off to the side in order to escape this for now.
"Yeah, but Mom, I got my powers!" Honestly, I don't think Will really sees the problem here since he's so glad to finally have his powers and a little part of me is glad too, although I still feel like I'm forgetting something.
"And do you know how to use them wisely?" That got him and I watch on as he deflates. A few more steps and I'll be at the stairs and running towards one of my sanctums. But Dad spots me just as I reach them.
"Not so fast, missy. Don't think that you're getting out of this scott free as well." I sigh and slump my shoulders in defeat, wanting nothing more than to just sit down. The concussion catching up to me, now that I'm finally home. I hoist my bag up higher on my shoulder before turning around and walking back to the front of the house.
"Letting your powers loose like that on the school? Do you have any idea what kind of damage you caused?" I look up in shock at him. Damage? When did I cause damage? "Because of you, over half the school had their powers drained."
Silence fills the room and I just stare at Dad. That's it? So after three whole days of ignoring me, the first words he speaks to me are those of brandishment. For what? Taking away some kids powers for half an hour at most in order to save Warren's life? From his own son at that. It's like the only way he knows how to communicate with me nowadays, is to yell at me in disappointment.
"You're kidding me. Right?" I ask in disbelief, but he doesn't stop. Oh no. Why would he stop when his precious son is in doubt.
"Kidding? You think I'm kidding about the fact that I warned you not to use your powers like this and you went against my word, unleashing more power than you ever have before. Over half the school, Jamie!" By the end of it, he's yelling and I flinch back. The loud noise bring back my headache in full force.
"I don't care! I did it to save Warren. He would have died if I didn't do anything. Not that you would care." The rage I had at the start of my rant dies off into a mere whisper as I start to choke and try to hold back my tears. I don't need this. With that thought, I run. Stumbling up the stairs, I somehow manage to make it to my bedroom, and collapse in a sobbing mess on the floor.
I hear the phone ring downstairs and Mom answering it, so I figure that Dad has probably taken Will somewhere by himself to secretly congratulate him away from Mom's prying eyes and ears. The Secret Sanctum, most likely. Pretty soon, I notice her footsteps heading up the stairs, so I'm not surprised when she gently knocks on my door and walks in with her hand over the phone's speaker.
She frowns upon seeing me on the floor and proceeds to pick me up off of there and lead me to my bed, "Honey, your friend Luci is on the phone for you. Do you want to speak to her?" She asks softly and I slowly nod my head, my tears subsiding for the moment, "I'll be back in an hour to talk to you." Mom says before handing me the phone and quietly leaving my room, closing the door on her way out.
"Luci?" I quietly ask, my voice shaking a little.
"Oh my god, Jamie! Are you alright?" I hear her frantically ask over the line. Her worry bringing a slight smile to my lips.
"Define 'alright'." My joke isn't received lightly as Luci begins to take on her bizarre 'mother hen' tendencies.
"Oh honey. What happened?" She asks in a calm voice, calming me down a little.
"Do you want the good news or the bad news first?" I decide to give her the choice of how this conversation pans out.
"There's good news?" She perks up, making me laugh.
"Yep. Great, in fact." I say with a silly grin on my face upon remembering Warren's soft lips on mine, his heat passing over me, raising the temperature of my body even more.
"Okay then, bad news. That way we can get past the thing that's hurting you the most, right now, then end on a good note with whatever it is that's so great that I'm dying to find out about." I silently agree with her and start the shaky tale of Will and Dad's treatment of me. To be honest, it's quite hard explaining Will's part in it all without giving away the good news, but thankfully the fact that Luci saw the cafeteria fight along with Will's eventual storming out of the room, helps things along a lot. By the end of it I manage to cry my eyes out so much that I believe they have now dried out.
When the conversation finally turns to a lighter note, or as Luci put it, 'steamy', I can't stop my racing heart and the random giggles that erupted from me sporadically. Even though I can't see her, I just know that her devilish mind is already thinking up some evil plan to shove Warren and I into awkward situations and, in a way, I kind of look forward to them. Finally, after well over an hour, my mom knocks at my door, signalling the end of our phone call. Hanging up, I greet Mom with a smile and hand her back the phone.
"I see you're in a better mood now." She comments, walking up to my bed. I move my legs up to my chest to give her some room before she sits down by my feet.
"Yeah, Luci really helped." I admit, smiling lightly until Mom lets out a sigh, gaining my full attention.
"Now, Jamie, about today," Mom starts and I already know I'm not going to like this conversation, "Your father and I received a phone call from your Principal and needless to say, it wasn't pleasant. She informed us that you and Will go into a fight with Mr. Peace in the cafeteria and then again in the Nurse's office. What on earth happened today?" She asks with a frown and I'm glad that she is actually giving me a chance to explain instead of just punishing me, like Dad would have.
"It wasn't really any of our fault at first. Will fell over and managed to spill his tray of food all over Warren, who didn't take it too kindly. They kind of ended up fighting in the cafeteria and no one was doing anything to stop it. I tried calling out a few times, but it didn't seem to work for long, so when Warren cornered Will, I took off my glove and stood up on the table to stop Warren, since Will didn't have his powers at this point."
"On the table?" Mom asks, confused. I laugh, having a vague idea of what could possibly be running through her mind right now.
"Warren was on top of the table and Will was beneath, hiding from him, sort of. Just as I stepped onto the table, it started shaking. Apparently, that's the moment he received his powers, because he lifted up the table with Warren and I both on it. I almost fell off, and would have, if it wasn't for Warren quickly grabbing me and pulling me to him," Mom smiled as she saw my face darken with a blush, "I don't think Will knew I was on there, 'cuz he kinda, maybe... threw the table."
A sudden gasp is heard from my mom and I stay still as she starts to inspect me for any visible injuries. "I have a concussion, Mom. It's why I was in the Nurse's office. Warren walked me there once he saw that I was in pain. He kinda yelled at Will before, then left with me. Soon after, Will walked in on us in the Nurse's office. I don't think he could quite grasp the fact that he injured me just after receiving his powers and there was Warren, the guy he just got in a fight with, taking care of me. Warren and him said a few things and it kinda turned ugly. Will went to go punch Warren without realising that Warren wasn't invulnerable anymore, so I reacted without thinking, releasing a power-out wave before Will could make contact with Warren. Apparently, I used more power than I thought because soon after there were people screaming just down the hallway and it quickly spread throughout the building. That's when Principal Powers found us." I deflate, glad to finally have it all out... well, all but the parts with just Warren and I. But I don't really feel like admitting that to Mom just yet.
Mom stays silent for a moment, probably mulling everything over in her head. Eventually, when she does speak, it's not to admonish me as I first thought. Instead, she wraps me up in a hug. "I'm proud of you, honey. What you did today took strength, bravery and loyalty." I look up at her with tears in my eyes. So much for crying myself dry.
"Thanks, Mom." I whisper, leaning into her hug.
"Anytime. Is there anything else you want to talk to me about?" Mom asks, as though she can tell I'm hiding something back from her, but I shake my head and smile, "Very well. I'd best be going to make sure your father isn't joking around with Will instead of talking to him to find out what happened. I know for a fact that he won't be playing that new X-box he rushed out to buy Will upon hearing he gained his powers if I have anything to say about it," She sends me a wink before standing up to leave, "Oh and Jamie, I'll be checking in on you every two hours to make sure this concussion of yours doesn't get worse so don't worry if you fall asleep." Mom says seriously making me smile, glad that she cares so much for me to miss out on her own sleep.
Only half an hour or so after Mom leaves my room, I'm finally feeling relaxed and feel like I can sleep, when I hear a solid knock on my door that almost sends it flying. A small curse from Will and I know he's the one outside my door.
"Ah... Jamie?" He hesitantly asks, unsure of himself.
"Yeah?" I relent, realising that apparently everyone is going to want to talk to me tonight when all I want to do is sleep.
"Can we talk?" He asks, poking his head through the small opening of the door he makes once opening it. I let out a sigh and he takes it as a signal to come in, "It's about what happened before," He quietly admits to me, expecting me to say something, but when I give him the silent treatment I'm famous for, he decides to continue, "Im sorry for barging in on you like that and pulling you away," Will's tone makes me think for a second that he's actually getting over this stupid issue he has with Warren, but it's proven wrong at his next words, "But, come on, it's Warren Peace for crying out loud!" He practically shouts. I clamp my hand over his mouth to quiet him, not wanting Dad coming in here to find out I've been making out with a famous Supervillain's son, when a sudden influx of information hits me.
Super strength. Able to benchpress a two-story house with only slight difficulty. Invulnerable to most injuries and illnesses due to tough skin. Minor thermoresistance. I gasp and flinch back at the same time Will does. It's only now that I realise I left my right hand glove in the Nurse's office from when I threw it earlier on today. In less than one day, I have already managed to take away my brother's newly received powers. For some reason those words ring in my head and I wonder why, until I suddenly remember the thing that has been weighing me down all these years.
"I didn't do it." I whisper to myself, not able to truly believe it, even as I say it out loud.
"What?" Will questions me surprisingly moving in close to me in order to hear better.
"I... It wasn't me. Will, it wasn't me! I didn't steal your powers!" I scream into his ear, a huge grin spreading across my face. He cringes back from me, but I don't let him get too far before I'm practically on top of him, clinging tightly to his form.
"All this time, I thought... and it wasn't my fault." I'm whispering again and I think Will is grateful for that even though he's still completely confused at my words and actions. He pats me awkwardly on the back, but I don't care, too relieved to do so, for all the pressure and guilt that I carried around with me all these years is melting away every second that I cling to my twin, feeling his powers for the first time ever. I thought this moment would never come. It takes some time, but eventually Will manages to decipher my ramblings and hugs me in earnest.
"It was never you, Jamie," Will whispers while gently rubbing my back, letting me relax fully. I don't know how long we stay like this, but eventually Will whispers back to me again,"Sorry," Upon sensing my confusion at his words, he continues, "I really am sorry for pulling you away from him before." He explains and it's now that I realise he wants to continue on with the reason he's here in my room in the first place.
Releasing Will, I let him sit up so I can place my head on his lap, "I know you mean well Will, but I like Warren. He's nice to me," When he's not being bipolar, I think quietly to myself, "And for the first time ever, I think I may actually have a boyfriend." I'll find out tomorrow when Luci, no doubt, makes me confront him.
"The guy hates me." Will sighs.
"Well you haven't really given him a reason not to. Just give him a chance, Will. Please?" I beg.
"Fine. One chance." He concedes and I grin up at him.
"Thank you." I whisper once more before closing my eyes and just enjoying this moment of peace with my twin, reminding me why I love being the younger, if only by an hour, sibling.
A/N: Honestly, without av23 as my Beta, you would probably be reading a load of spelling mistakes and grammatical errors. Thank you again, luv~