The next couple days consisted of lame lessons with other hero students and silent lunches with Warren. Well, he was silent as he glared at Will on the daily, but Rhia ranted and talked to him all the time, so much that she should've been paying him to be her therapist or something. Today was different, though, she could feel it. It was proven, as she sat across from the school's favorite outcast. Rhia had gotten up to go to the bathroom, she was only gone for six minutes, and when she returned, part of the cafeteria was on fire, and Will was holding up part of a lunch table with Warren on top of it.
Rhia pushed through the crowds angrily, not knowing who started the fight, but intending to finish it. She yelped when Will threw Warren across the room, her lunch buddy smacking into one of the pillars and falling onto a table. Trying to push through more people to get to him, she only became angrier as the crowd grew thicker. He managed to get up, arms blazing. Rhia's eyebrows shot up in surprise. She had known he had powers, but she didn't know what his was.
"Stronghold!" he bellowed. Will pathetically put up his hands in fists. Rhia closed her eyes as Warren advanced, knowing that Will was surely in for a beating. What she didn't expect was hearing Warren's cry and opening her eyes to see him go flying through the wall. That boy and his habit of crashing into and through things was surely a problem for the school's budget. People crowded around Will again, only to scatter away screaming when Warren pulled himself through the hole in the wall. So much for heroes, Rhia thought to herself. Her blue eyes widened drastically when she saw Warren running for Will, leaving the Stronghold boy no time to react. Sighing, Rhia launched herself in between the two boys, forming a water shield. Warren bounced off, his fire put out. He narrowed his eyes at her hatefully, which she only shrugged and mouthed an apology in return. Looking up, Rhia paled at the sight of Principal Powers standing over her friend with a scowl.
Principal Powers led them to a room with a sliding door, gesturing for the trio to go inside. Rhia sat down without complaint, already having discussed what happened with Principal Powers, she knew that the woman was not allowed to play favorites.
"I didn't even do anything though, he started it!" Will complained. Rhia hung her head in disappointment as the two boys argued. One of them must've tried to use their powers, because Principal Powers shut them down.
"Don't bother. The detention room neutralizes all super powers, just ask Rhia over here," she woman stated. Rhia scoffed when the two boys looked at her with stunned expressions.
"Gee, thanks Rebecca, way to spill my secrets," the girl hissed, laying her head on her arms.
Principal Powers smiled warmly at the Bloodstorm girl before turning back to the boys. "Sit. Now, here at Sky High, we do everything we can to teach you how to use your powers. But what you do with them is 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 when you're about to do something stupid," the woman was about to leave when she stopped by Rhia's desk. "Lorraine would be proud of you for stepping in," she murmured. Rhia bristled, raising her blazing eyes to the woman who was already walking away. She knew that the principal was just trying to commend her for stopping the fight, but the mention of her mother was enough to make her clench her teeth. The brunette looked over to see Warren still staring at her with curiosity written on his handsome features.
Exhaling, she laid her head back down, not wanting to see their looks of pity when she told them. "I had to be contained when my parents died," she muttered.
"Wow, I didn't-" Will started but was silenced when she held up a hand.
"I don't want to talk about it."
The Stronghold boy sighed, smacking his hands on his desk. "Alright look. Whatever happened between our dads has nothing to do with us. What do you say?" Rhia peeked out from under her mess of curls to see him extending his hand towards Warren. The dark haired boy was still looking at her. The two stared at each other for a moment before he turned to Will.
"I say, if you ever cross me again, I will roast you alive," he snarled. Rhia stifled a laugh, turning it into a cough. Warren shot her a look to which she put on an innocent expression.
"Never knew my best friend was a drama queen," it was under her breath, but both boys had heard it. Warren's eyebrows raised and his eyes softened slightly, but it was a reaction. It was very dull, though, compared to Will's.
"You guys are best friends?!" he yelped, gesturing between the two others in the room. Rhia smacked her forehead on the desk, overwhelmed by his stupidity.
"He's my only friend, therefore my best friend. Don't know how he feels about it though."
Warren nodded. "That about sums it up." Rhia looked up again, giving him a soft smile before going back down. The day had been going so well and she had really been looking forward to lunch with Warren. He was a comfort to her, surprisingly, with his kind eyes that were only for her, but she didn't know that. The past couple days, he'd gone from glaring at Will to actually looking at her when she spoke. She felt like she was being listened to and that her words were valued. It made her happy.
   "Sorry for stopping you, Warren, I just didn't want you to get in even more trouble."
   The small smile was still on her lips when she fell asleep in the desk, all the worry, anger, and sadness leaving her face.
Will every so often would look at Warren, but Warren watched Rhiannon Paige Bloodstorm with the corners of his mouth lifted slightly.