Opposites Attract (A Warren Peace Love Story)

Dad... I'm a Sidekick

I walk off the school bus and walk up towards the school with Will, Layla and the others. "Today's our first official day." I smile at them. Will treds up towards the staircase to the school. "Come on, it's not that bad." I tell him. "Easy for you to say, Hero." He mumbles. "Hero support isn't that bad." Layla tells him. Will doesn't answer as the bell rings to go to class. "Hey, I'll see you all at lunch, alright?" I smile at him and Layla. Layla smiles back and gives me a quick hug while Will just gives me a depressed and envious look. I shake my head and hug him tightly. "You'll do great. I promise." I whisper in his ear before running off to my first class. Hero Training.

"Good morning class." My teacher, a young, vibrant male states as students take their seats. "Excuse me." I say quietly, walking up to the teacher. "Yes?" He asks, looking at me with a smile. "Where do I sit?" I ask him. "Let me see here..." He states, grabbing a clipboard from his desk. "Name?" "Stronghold." I tell him. He scans over the seating chart, muttering 'Stronghold' under his breath multiple times. "Ah, here you are. Emily Stronghold. You'll be sitting in the back next to Mr. Peace." I felt my body fall numb as I look to where the teacher was pointing. Sitting in the back was Warren Peace, giving me the same dirty look he had the previous day. He was leaning back in his seat, his arms folded loosely over his chest. His hair hung loosely at the sides of his head, casting a dark shadow across his face. I swallow my nerves and make my way to the back, taking my seat next to him. I keep my attention to the front of the room, which was difficult when I could feel Warren's glare fixed upon me. I reach down and pull out my books from my bag, opening to the page that was written on the board. I glance over at Warren, who was still glaring at me. I take a deep breath and turn to face him completely. "Hi, I'm Emily." I say as kindly as I could, holding out a hand to him. He just narrows his eyes more, keeping his arms folded loosely over his chest. "I know who you are, Stronghold." He states spitefully, hatred lacing his voice. I give him a nervous smile, awkwardly retracting my hand. "Alright-y then." I mutter under my breath. The last bell rings and the class falls silent, staring up at the teacher. "Alright class, today will be more of a relaxed day." The teacher states, picking up another clipboard. "I'm Mr. Man, but some of you may know me as Manta." He states. 'Manta...' I think. 'The hero who can control water and talk to fish?' "I would like all of you to turn to the student next to you." I nervously glance over at Warren, who still hadn't stopped glaring at me. "This will be your partner for the rest of the term. If I feel like you work well together, they will be your partner for the rest of the year." Mr. Man explains. I quickly whip my head to look at him with wide eyes. 'Of course!' I think. 'Why wouldn't the only person in the entire school who hates my guts be my partner?' "If you have all read the board..." Mr. Man continues. "You should all have your books open to page 394. I would like you to review this page with your partner. You may move your desks if needed. The papers are due at the end of class." I glance at Warren again, nervously biting the inside of my cheek. I glance down at my book, hoping that maybe I could do the work on my own. Turns out, all questions were about my partner. What is your partner's power? How old is your partner? Ask your partner for a demonstration of his/her power. Has your partner attended Sky High in previous years? I look around the room to see the other students cheerfully chatting away, answering each other's questions and laughing. I sigh softly and look up at Warren. "Look..." I start softly. "I understand why you... hate me." I state, trying to put it as delicately as possible. "But we both need to pass this class. So let's set that hatred aside for now, and focus on work, alright? We don't have to like each other." He narrows his eyes further, continuing to glare at me. "Is that a yes?" I ask. He remains silent. After a minute or so of awkward silence, he looks down at his work book and slowly grabs onto the edge of his desk, moving closer to me. 'Alright.' I think. 'Progress.' I smile as he puts his desk directly next to mine. I tuck a loose strand of my brown hair behind my ear, glancing down at the questionnaire as I rip out a blank paper from my notebook. "Alright..." I say aloud, not really speaking to anybody. "What is your power?" I ask, looking up at him. He slowly looks over at me, still refusing to speak. I let out a soft gasp and jump back in surprise when his arm, which was resting on top of his desk, suddenly catches fire, almost singeing me. After a moment, the flame goes out, not even leaving behind a singe mark on his clothes or desk. I stare at him, slightly wide eyed before nodding and writing on my paper. "Alright. Pyrokinetic." I say aloud as I write. I set my pencil down and look at him again. "I'm a Cryokinetic." I tell him. He raises an eyebrow slightly. "Whatever you say, Ice Princess." He mutters under his breath, writing 'Cryokinetic' down on a blank paper. I glare at him slightly, not a fan of the new nickname. "Let's see..." I whisper, looking at the questionnaire. "How old is your partner?" I glance up at Warren. "How old are you?" I ask. He stays silent for a moment. "15." He states simply. "Huh. You're a year older than me." I state, writing down his age. He doesn't respond, still refusing to meet my gaze as he writes down '14' on his own paper. I go to ask another question, but get cut off by a large explosion, resulting in the lights being shut off. A few of the students, consisting of mostly girls, let out a squeal in surprise as the room was flooded with darkness. A sudden small light appears next to me, making me look over at Warren, who had a small flame resting on the palm of his hand. I could see his bored expression from the faint light that it was casting. The lights suddenly flickered on again, and Warren closes his hand, extinguishing the flame. A teacher, a man with an abnormally large head and lab coat, walks into the classroom. "Pay no attention to the giant explosion. We had a minor accident in the mad science lab. There is no need to panic." He states. He suddenly nods his head slightly. "Unless you're a single celled organism." He adds. "Mr. Medulla..." Mr. Man says, walking towards the scientist. "Please remember you're in Hero Training. Heroes do not panic over silly things such as sudden power outages." He states. "Of course Mr. Man." The scientist, Mr. Medulla, states. "I shall be off to check on the other classes then. If they haven't all disintegrated into atoms." As the mad scientist leaves the room, the bell to leave rings overhead. "Please leave your papers on my desk on your way out and I shall see you all tomorrow." Mr. Man states as students begin to leave. "Well, I guess I'll see you tomorrow." I tell Warren as I gather my things. I smile softly and extend my hand out towards the pyrokinetic. He stops gathering his things, slowly turning to look at me. After a moment, he reaches over and shakes my hand, a small cloud of steam forming from where our skin touched. I smile at him, slinging my bag over my shoulder and walking out of the room, being sure to leave my paper on Mr. Man's desk before leaving.