wings ↣ w. worthington iii

14. the best way to describe this predicament: crap. ✓

"The universe buries strange jewels deep within us all, and then stands back to see if we can find them." (Big Magic by Elizabeth Gilbert)

Word Count: 2075

"DAMN, I CAN'T BELIEVE I was under a love spell!" Lilli said for the millionth time. She still was in shock over the recent revelation that Cas was the spy and had been manipulating her.

"For the last time, it wasn't a—"

"It was a love spell, no one can convince me otherwise!" Lilli declared, smiling at the two boys. Peter looked exasperated, as they had been arguing for many minutes, and Warren had maintained his stony silence.

"Well, this certainly isn't a Disney movie, so no, you weren't under a love spell," Peter said slowly, like he was speaking to a wild animal. "Anyways, who'd want to put a love spell on you? You're just about as ugly as a hog!"

"Hey, watch it," Warren suddenly said, glaring at Peter, who immediately put his hands up in mock surrender.

"Sorry, sorry, buddy, I was just joking!" He laughed. "She's all yours!" Peter winked, and Warren actually blushed. Lilli thought this was strange behavior, but decided not to bring it up. She had bigger fish to fry. Like, oh, what the hell she was going to do now that she wasn't a student at the mansion.

"Anyways, are you boys ever going back to the school, or what?" Asked Lilli after a moment of silence. They had been walking for around half an hour, down the road that led into town, and the boys hadn't made any move to go back.

"Are you kidding? Cas'll blow us up! Nah, we have a few bags of food and money stashed away." Peter replied nonchalantly, picking up a flat stone and skipping it on the pond they were passing. It skipped four times.

"And?" Lilli pressed on.

"What? No, that's it," Peter replied.

"Peter, honestly, how stupid do you have to be?" Warren suddenly asked, rolling his eyes at Peter. He looked at Lilli out of the corner of his eye and said, "Professor Xavier has a place we're going to. It's a little ways away, though."

"What do you mean? How did he know I was leaving?" Lilli asked defensively.

"He didn't. It's a hideout for if we ever need it," Peter explained. He shared a guilty look with Warren. She assumed that they only knew about it because Professor Xavier had told them at one of the X-Men meetings that she hadn't been allowed at.

"Right," Lilli said, pushing her anger aside. "Well, where is this hideout?"

"It isn't really a hideout, because Cas is a telepath, too. He can read our minds and all, which isn't very good if we want to hide from him and Kezing," Peter said. "So we're banking on the fact that he is so irrevocably in love with you that he won't attack us."

Warren tensed next to Lilli, who glanced at him curiously. She wondered if he was feeling okay, and when she asked, Warren looked away and Peter laughed. Lilli's mind started forming some very wild ideas, one of which was so completely laughable that if she voiced it aloud, Peter would probably bust his gut.

It involved Warren's feelings towards Lilli, and how they might be more than friendly. But that's the part that confused Lilli—why would Warren like her if she'd been such a massive bitch to him lately? It didn't make sense. It was plausible, but laughable. Warren wouldn't ever romantically like Lilli, he didn't even like her as friends.

Again, how laughable.

"But to answer your question, the hideout is in Ohio." Warren said quietly.