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— 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐓𝐖𝐎 𝐌𝐀𝐃𝐄 their way to the classroom in silence, only turning around to face one another after they dropped off all the supplies and came to a stop in front of the door.
"I'm really sorry for saying something back there," Layla spoke first, looking down at her shoes as she apologized.
"I should have never spoken for you like that. I just- I got jealous." She whispered at the end, blushing as she admitted the truth.
Warren stayed silent for a moment, before taking a step closer to her and using his hand to gently lift her chin. Only when they locked eyes, did he respond. "It's okay, Hippie. You only spoke the truth anyway."
And then his eyes darkened as he frowned. "And don't believe a word that she said. You're perfect, alright? And you're so much better than her. You're better than everyone." He said casually, shrugging at the end as if what he said hadn't just rocked Layla's world.
Which it did.
A million thoughts were racing through her head at that moment — most of them jumbled blurs of elation that she would never be able to decipher. But it didn't matter, because she knew what happy thoughts were and what they felt like, and that's what her thoughts were — happy. Warren's words had made her so. Incredibly. Happy.
Layla stared at him in shock for a while, before a large smile took over her face and she wrapped her arms around his neck — pulling their bodies as close together as possible.
Warren hadn't seen the surprise gesture coming but caught her easily enough, a soft chuckle leaving his lips as he wrapped his arms around her waist.
They stayed like that for a while longer, enjoying the feeling of being in one another's arms.
Eventually, they pulled away; though not very far.
Warren's hands stayed on Layla's waist as he gave it a gentle squeeze, before caressing her sides with his thumbs and pulling her just a step closer to himself.
He liked her being close, sue him.
"My mom misses you, you know." The pyrokinetic smirked softly, his eyes holding a glint of fondness at the mention of Winona.
Layla's eyes lit up similarly, excitement and happiness at his news clearly playing out on her face. "Really!? Well, I miss her too. She's really so sweet, and I would love to talk to her some more about gardening. We got really deep into it last time at dinner." She rambled slightly, causing Warren to chuckle.
"You're such a hippie, Hippie." He teased, before lightly pinching her side, causing her to yelp and sending him into another bout of laughter.
"You're gonna turn my mom into a hippie too, and then what? I'll be surrounded by hippies for the rest of my life." He continued, rubbing her pinched skin in apology.
The redhead gave him a mock pout, as she moved her hands up to playfully squeeze his cheeks. "Oh, the torture." She cooed sarcastically, laughing when his amused smirk morphed into a scowl.
"You know, I was going to let you come over for dinner tonight so you and my mom could catch up, but I think I changed my mind." He said, smirking when Layla took a step back and gasped loudly at his words.
"That is mean, Warren! Please let me come over for dinner! I wanna see your mom." She pleaded, even going as far as clasping her hands in a gesture of asking.
The Peace boy pretended to think for a second, ignoring the way Layla stepped closer to him once more if only to prolong her touch on his skin.
Eventually, he sighed heavily and bent his head down to meet her eyes, a smirk still playing on his face. "Fine. But if there are any attempts at converting me to a hippie, I'm gone."
Layla furrowed her brows as she tilted her head to the side. "Don't you mean I'm gone?" She questioned, to which Warren firmly shook his head.
"Hippie, my mom loves you. Trust me, she will take your side over mine. I'm outnumbered, so if there are any conversion attempts — I'm outta there." He explained matter of factly.
Layla giggled, before sobering up and holding her pinkie out towards him. "No hippie converting, I pinkie swear." She said seriously.
Warren raised a brow, not bothering to lift his hand. "Seriously? What are we, twelve?"
Layla scowled as she grabbed his hand for him. Wrapping their pinkie fingers around one another, she finally spoke. "Pinkie promises are sacred, Warren! They can never be broken."
The pyrokinetic watched on in amusement, deciding to humor the redhead. "Whatever you say, Hippie. Whatever you say."
After the typically quick gesture — Layla was absolutely not counting their pinkie promise as 'quick' due to Warren being a stubborn not-so-nice-word that she currently couldn't come up with — the two teens began making their way out of the classroom.
As they neared the doors at the end of the hallway, Layla smirked mischievously. "I wonder if I could convince your mom to become a vegetarian."
Warren whipped his head to the side sharply, his face dead serious. "Don't you dare."
The redhead giggled at his words, before stepping closer to him and nudging his arm softly. "Don't worry, Hotshot — I'll keep my vegetarian ways to myself." She teased.
Warren shook his head, as he shot her a fond smile. "Good."
And with that, they began to make their way to the bus.
