Distinguished
Layla was having a dilemma; she was caught between her one true love and one who truly loved her. But when she got into deep trouble, who would be the one saving her?
She tried to bury her nose into the book in front of her, but no, her nose wouldn't oblige. A tissue box rested on the table she was studying on, and half of the tissue that once belonged in the paper box were now lying in the wastepaper basket.
Layla sniffed for the thousandth time that day. She rubbed her already tomato-like nose, and pulled out a piece of tissue from the box. She expertly crushed it and aimed for the dustbin… SCORE! She thought silently, and smiled stupidly to herself.
If only Will knew about this…
She shook the disrupting thought out of her mind and mindlessly picked up the cordless phone not far away from her desk. She dialed his number… then threw it down almost immediately.
The famous Will Stronghold won't have time for me… He might be in an interview, or performing at a live show…Or maybe even fighting off villains… Or maybe, just maybe… thinking of me…
Then, mindlessly, she picked up the phone and dialed a different number. This time, she didn't throw it back down, nor did the phone inform her that "sorry, but the number you have dialed is currently unavailable." Instead, as soon as the phone rang its first ring, the person on the other end picked it up…
"Layla! Pleasant surprise!" Warren Peace's husky voice spread from the other end of the telephone line, and it warmed Layla's body from head to toe, spreading a faint hint of crimson across her cheeks. It was so wonderful to hear her boyfriend's best friend's voice again!
After the eventful night when Will finally accepted her as his girlfriend, Warren and his senior batch soon graduated. Though they still kept in touch quite often, Will was too busy dealing with interviews and late night live shows to be gathering with Warren and gang.
"Yeah, it's me!" Layla tried very hard to sound like she didn't have a blocked and runny nose, but failed terribly. "Can we meet at the Paper Lantern, please, at eight o'clock tonight?"
She heard a faint chuckle. "Is your nose runny, or did your boyfriend got runny?" he laughed at his own droll humor. She couldn't help but laugh, too. "Yeah, as you wish, my green princess… Your wish is my command…"
"Hey," a girl dressed in a green halter-neck dress and high heels walked over graciously, her hair tied up neatly in a bun. "Long time no see… Though that jerk Will could have arranged a meet –sniff- meeting… He's too busy with his inter –sniff- interviews…"
Warren smirked a little at Layla's poor state, offered her some fire in his private room above the Paper Lantern, and sat down on a random sofa.
"And yes, what does my little green princess want to tell me? I don't believe she's calling her darling Will a jerk for real. Calm down, Layla, and have a cup of coffee, if you please." The corner of his lips curved up a little in amusement, watching this girl sniffing her nose spoilt.
"Sut up Warren I'm filling bad enuff alrety…" Her voice sounded very much nasal and Warren felt rather bad about that.
"How about a trip to the seaside? After that we could visit my uncle, who happens to be a doctor. He'll charge you FOC, don't worry."
"I'd rather visit the park," Layla said disdainfully. "I've abandoned my powers for too long, I'm afraid they'd get rusty. I can't do it anywhere, and I've forgotten all about the hidden place of Ground Low…"
Warren laughed out loud. "GROUND LOW! FOR GOD'S SAKE, LAYLA, YOU STILL USE THAT!" In his excitement a fire was ignited from his left fist, though none was aware at first.
"Oh my God, Warren, what happened?" After a full minute Layla finally spotted the rather weak flame spouting from Warren's palm and she quickly forced Warren into the washroom and extinguished it. Right after Warren practically threw Layla down the stairs and beside his convertible.
"I can control that, you know," Warren said, disappointed, waiting for Layla to get into the front passenger seat of the topless car. She laughed heartily as she muttered something like "oops I forgot" and fastened her seatbelt, watching as Warren did the same. For a split second she was completely mesmerized by his every movement, then immediately she shook herself awake from her stupor. I must be faithful to Will… HE is my one true love… Somehow the voice stopping her from gluing her lips to Warren's grew softer every second, and before it could finally disappear Warren had started the car. "Here we go, girl, sit tight!"
The park was empty and eerily silent except for the original nocturnal bird chirp and the dimly lit streetlights. Warren and Layla stood at the entrance, each waiting for the other to first do something.
"What?" They found themselves staring into each other's eyes and blinked, speaking in unison. Then both laughed.
"We're being silly," Warren made clear their thoughts and Layla nodded in agreement. "Now do whatever you set out to do, silly girl, and don't stand here staring at me."
"Well actually my first intention was to go to the most romantic place on earth and sit down and enjoy the brilliant skill of stargazing for a bit, but since my dark prince decided to come here instead, I shall sit down and chat with him and make some fruit for the both of us. Do you think that's okay, hmm?" A little of her droll sarcasm kicked in automatically and he chuckled.
"Don't you find that a bit, um, lame? And so, my pretty little cupcake, what fruit are you going to make this time?" Warren found them a bench near a tree and sat down, waiting for Layla's gift.
Layla smiled in spite of her condition and reached her hand out to one of the tree branches, and immediately she could feel the fruit, cool to the touch of her palm. She opened it up; it was an apple. "Here you go."
She reached for another branch this time, and rather unfortunately, it took a quarter of a second longer than it usually would to make a fruit. She furrowed her brows in puzzlement and finally she felt its presence. It felt different; the shape was more oval than her usual apple, and it felt rougher… She opened her palm, and stared, totally taken aback and intrigued.
"I expected more than an apple from you, you kn – What?" Warren glared at Layla, unsure of what her current expression meant.
"Oh my God," a hand went up to her lips as her tone was coated with utter astonishment. "Look at this, Warren…" In her palm lay a lemon, a shiny, juicy-looking lemon.
Warren Peace was going to say "so?" when he remembered. Layla never succeeded in making a lemon since she first discovered her powers… "Congratulations, Layla! But is that supposed to be good, or bad?" He asked instead.
"I dunno, Warren, but I think it's good!" Layla's voice was no longer nasal, and rather, she sounded happier than usual. "It might mean my powers have gone up a notch!" she squealed in blissful delight and Warren shushed her.
"This is a public place you know! Anyone could have heard you! Shut up, Layla, shut UP!"
Layla stared wide-eyed, then realized the impact of what she was doing and the consequences. "But I'm definitely going to keep this lemon, it's a sign of success!" she used a tone that was more like a whisper and hissing, but one could still tell by the way her eyes were gleaming in the dark.
Warren smiled joyfully; Layla was happy, and so would he be. Then, to his utmost surprise, Layla pounced right onto him; she squeezed him so tightly in a bear hug he was almost unable to breathe. Now his eyes were sparkling – LAYLA was hugging him!
And right at that moment, unaware to the both of them, there was a slight, almost completely invisible movement overhead; something, or someone, flew above them; and unbeknownst to them, he was shooting death glares down to the male.
A/N: Thank you for reading! And please please REVIEW! PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE... Whether it's constructive criticism or kind reviews, anything will do! Except for flames. Thank you! I know this is short, sorry (: