Title: How to Save a Life
Author: Flashes09
Rating: K+
Fandom/Pairing: Sky High; Will/Layla/Warren
Summary: Layla's caught between the two guys who mean the most to her.
A/N: So, I set up a challenge for myself to put my iPod on shuffle, take the first twenty songs, and write one-shots for them. I'm hoping it'll get me out of my writer's block funk and on to writing again. Anyway, this one-shot is a little longer than I planned, but I hope you enjoy it!
How to Save a Life
(song by The Fray)
It had been happening more and more recently. Layla and Will would have a date. Sometimes they managed to enjoy it. But most times, it was far from fun. More and more often, as Will became an integral part of the city's crime fighting unit, Layla found herself at restaurants and parties alone, because Will had to leave, because he had shown up late, or because he couldn't come at all.
And Layla understood. It wasn't easy being one of the best superheroes in the city, and she knew that what he did was important. He saved people from the forces of evil. It was a big job and somebody had to do it.
But she couldn't help but wonder: Did Will always have to do the saving?
There were plenty of other heroes in the city, and Will's parents had fought evil just fine before they became the Stronghold Three. And yet, it was always Will that was needed to save the day. Giant robot? Why call a technopath when Will Stronghold can punch it? Building fire? Why call Warren, who, with his absolute control over fire, could put it out in a matter of minutes, when you can have Will Stronghold?
But no, every disaster called for Will Stronghold. And Layla was getting sick of it. Anymore, she was lucky to see Will a few times a day, and for only a few minutes each time, and some days she never saw him at all. They couldn't even call themselves a couple anymore, with as little time as they spent together. Lately Layla had been feeling lonely.
So, one day, she decided to do something about it.
She sent Will a message: "Meet me at the Paper Lantern at 8 PM." She hoped he would find the significance in meeting at the Paper Lantern, the place where they had their first post-Homecoming date, and she hoped that he would show up.
They needed to have a talk.
Step one you say we need to talk
He walks you say sit down it's just talk
Smiles politely back at you
You stare politely right on through
Some sort of window to your right
She goes left and you stay right
Between the lines of fear and blame
And you begin to wonder why you came
Layla was surprised to find that Will showed up at the Paper Lantern at eight on the dot, and he was smiling broadly. He looked so handsome striding toward her, Layla had to steel herself and remember why she was here.
"Look, I made it here on time! First time in awhile, huh?" He said jokingly. But when Layla didn't smile, his grin disappeared. "What's wrong?" He asked, sliding smoothly into the booth across from her.
"We need to talk, Will." The serious tone in her voice put a puzzled look on Will's face.
"What about? If it's about the party on Tuesday, I told you, I'm sorry I had to leave, but there was an emergency-"
"It's not about the party, Will. Not entirely." Layla interrupted him before he apologized. He had a habit of doing that and seemed to think that apologizing made up for leaving her at restaurants and parties by herself.
"It's about us, Will. And about where our relationship is headed." Will frowned.
Where did I go wrong, I lost a friend
Somewhere along in the bitterness
And I would have stayed up with you all night
Had I known how to save a life
"What about 'us'? Layla, what's wrong?" Will asked, his frown etching lines around his mouth and between his brows.
"I'm not sure there is an 'us' anymore, Will. You spend so much time away..." Layla started, but was unable to finish her sentence. For a second, Will just started at her.
"You want to break up with me?" Will asked, his voice barely louder than a whisper.
"No, I don't. I love you Will-" Layla began.
"Then what's the problem?" Will asked.
"It's just that..." Layla trailed off, unsure of how to continue. She knew what she wanted to say, but now that she was sitting in front of Will looking into his face, she found it was hard to find the words.
Let him know that you know best
Cause after all you do know best
Try to slip past his defense
Without granting innocence
Lay down a list of what is wrong
The things you've told him all along
pray to God he hears you
And pray to god he hears you
And then, while she stared into his face, every time that he had left, had shown up late, hadn't come at all, then tried to apologize for it and brush it off came rushing back to her. She saw what her future would be if this continued. She saw herself paying for half-eaten dinners, flagging down taxis after leaving a party early, taking care of kids, a house, everything by herself.
"Will, I can't do this anymore. I can't do this by myself." She said, strongly, confidently, although where that confidence came from, she had no clue.
"What can't you do by yourself? You're not doing anything by yourself, you have me."
"No, I don't, Will, I don't have you. Anymore, I'm lucky to see you, let alone spend any quality time with you. You're always gone somewhere, and you are always willing to leave. I'm sick of being in this relationship alone." Layla burst out, suddenly finding all the words she needed.
"You're not alone-" Will started, but Layla plowed right through him.
"Yes, I am Will. You are rarely around. I'm always the one setting up dates and finding time for us to be together. I'm the one who is in this relationship and sometimes I think you just show up when you are told to, just like you show up whenever the mayor calls about an emergency, even if it's just a cat up the tree!" It felt good to get all that out and Layla felt lighter than she had in a long time.
As he begins to raise his voice
You lower yours, grant him one last choice
Drive until you lose the road
Or break with the ones you've followed
He will do one of two things
He will admit to everything
Or he'll say he's just not the same
And you'll begin to wonder why you came
"Wait, you're mad because I go out and save people?" He asked, anger beginning to creep into his voice.
"No! No, it's not that, it's just that, I hardly ever see you anymore and we don't spend as much time together-" Layla hurriedly tried to amend what she had said, not wanting to turn her relationship woes into a full-blown argument in the middle of the Paper Lantern where the restaurants other patrons would be able to hear.
"No, what you're saying is that you think we should break up because I take time out of my life to save people!"
"I'm saying that saving people is all you do Will! You barely even have an alter ego! You live for nothing else than saving people! Don't you want more from life?" The other people in the restaurant had stopped eating and were watching the arguing couple.
"Saving people is a noble calling-" Will started, his voice as loud as Layla's, but she cut through him.
"Yes, it's a noble calling, but it isn't a lifestyle! You can't live on saving people alone. Don't you want a family? Kids? A home and something to do other than saving the world? Don't you want a full life? A life with me? Because what we have right now, that's not a life, it's not a relationship, and I think it's time you chose what you want."
Silence reigned. Layla had finished her speech and was waiting on Will's answer. He sat staring at her from across the table his face angry and his jaw clenched. Finally, he broke the silence.
"Fine. You want to break up and go find your life somewhere else, go ahead." His voice was a deadly quiet, his anger tightly controlled and but his face showed it all. He glared at Layla and continued to do so while he finished he's part. "I'm sorry life with me was so terrible and I'm sorry I wasted so much of your time. Good luck with the rest of your life." He moved to get out of the booth, but Layla grabbed his arm.
"Will, I'm sorry, I didn't want to end it like this-" Layla said, trying to salvage the situation somewhat. He had been her best friend for years and even if she didn't want a romantic relationship, she didn't want to lose his friendship. She hadn't meant to say everything she had said, but once she had started, she had found it hard to stop.
"Well, it's too late for that, isn't it?" He gave a humorless laugh. "I think I've wasted enough of your time.." He trailed off as the phone in his pocket began to ring. Layla recognized it as the ringtone that belong to the Mayor's private line. "Duty calls." He said, pulling out the phone and stalking out of the restaurant, leaving Layla alone.
And although Layla had sworn to herself that she wouldn't cry over a boy, she still couldn't stop the hot tears that slid down her cheeks.
Where did I go wrong, I lost a friend
Somewhere along in the bitterness
And I would have stayed up with you all night
Had I known how to save a life
How to save a life
She was still sitting there ten minutes later, now only able to think about all the good times she and Will had had, even though they had become few and far between, when Warren emerged from his office.
For his cover, Warren had chosen to buy the Paper Lantern from its previous owners and take up managing it. The job provided ample opportunity for him to take time off. In fact, as long as he got done all the work that needed to be done, then he was free whenever he wanted.
It was by sheer luck that Warren was in the office that night. He had gone home earlier but had realized that he had left his cell phone in the office, and since that was the number his mother called to check up on him, he needed to have it, or she would begin to worry. Then, he decided to go ahead and get the paychecks signed and ready for tomorrow, thus allowing him to sleep in a little. He was not a morning person.
He had just signed the last check when one of the waiters came in and said that there was a woman crying in the restaurant and that all their bamboo plants were dying. Warren only knew one person with power over plants, and he knew what happened if she got sad, so her went out into the restaurant proper to find out what was wrong.
Where did I go wrong, I lost a friend
Somewhere along in the bitterness
And I would have stayed up with you all night
Had I known how to save a life
How to save a life
Warren was reminded of the first time he had ever seen Layla in the Paper Lantern. She was sitting in the same booth and was once again the only person in the restaurant. Even from where he was standing he could hear her crying. He moved hurriedly toward her booth and sat across from her.
"Layla?" He asked gently. "What's wrong?"
Layla looked up and was surprised to see Warren sitting across from her. She thought that Will had just vacated his seat, but looking out the window, she realized that she had been sitting there for hours.
She stared at Warren, who was looking at her with a concerned face. "Layla?" He asked again, his deep voice soft and gentle.
"I broke up with Will." Warren nodded, then stood up and offered her his hand. She took it and stood up, wiping her face of tears.
Warren led her out of the Paper Lantern and toward his car, opening the passenger door for her, then closing it securely behind her before getting in on her side.
Only when they were on the road did he ask her anything.
"What happened?" She haltingly came out with the whole story, about how Will was never around, about how lonely she had been over the past few weeks, and about how she had finally had enough.
At this point, they pulled up outside of Warren's apartment and he came around to the passenger side and offered her his hand again. But once he helped her down, he didn't let go of her hand, but held on as he led her through his building to his apartment. Layla was grateful. She didn't want to be alone tonight. She had confronted Will in hopes of being able to spend more time with him, but now it looked as if she wouldn't be spending any time with him anymore.
Warren unlocked his door and showed her in, and Layla thought it looked cozy. He had a couch and chairs that were overstuffed and looked like a good place to curl up and sleep. One way led to a kitchen and then there were doors that led to a bedroom and bathroom.
"You can sleep here tonight." Warren said, closing the door behind himself. "You can have the bed, I'll take the couch."
"No, I can't- " Layla said but Warren interrupted.
"It's okay, I'm going to insist anyway, so we might as well pass on the whole conversation." Layla nodded and smiled a little, which caused Warren to smile, in turn causing Layla to smile even bigger. Layla had always loved Warren's smile. It was rare, but was quite the thing to see when he used it.
He showed her into the bedroom and pointed out the door that led to another bathroom.
"Feel free to use the bathroom, there are towels in the closet. And if you need me, for anything," Warren made sure to catch her eyes, "I'll be on the couch." Then he closed the door. Layla watched him go, then decided that a shower would be perfect.
She turned the water to hot and stood under the spray for twenty minutes before getting out. She took the time to think back over her and Will's relationship. It had been good until they had gotten out of school. Then Will had gone off to be the big hero, and Layla had been left alone. She remembered every time she had had to leave a party by herself, or eaten a meal by herself, or come home to their empty apartment.
She had done the right thing.
She exited the bathroom with one towel wrapped around her body and the other around her curly red hair. She found an old Guns N' Roses T-Shirt in one drawer and slid it on, finished towel drying her hair, and slid into Warren's bed.
She then found that she was unable to sleep. She stared at the ceiling, not really thinking of anything, every once and awhile checking the time. She thought about Warren and about how uncomfortable that couch probably was if you had to sleep on it. By that time it was midnight, and Layla knew she wasn't going to get any sleep, so she got up and padded out into the main room.
"Warren?" She whispered as she neared the couch. It wasn't a smart idea to startle a superhero. But she heard Warren stir, so she came closer.
"Hippie? What's wrong?" He asked groggily. Now Layla felt bad for waking him.
"I'm not going to be able to sleep. Why don't you take the bed?" She said.
"I'm fine."
"Whatever. Come on." She dragged him up off the couch and to his bedroom. Although he dragged his feet for a little bit, eventually he relented and came willingly.
He slid into the bed, but didn't let go of Layla's hand, instead tugging her down with him. She gave only the lightest resistance than slid in next to him.
One thing that had always surprised Layla was just how warm Warren's skin was. Being a pyrokinetic meant that his skin was warm, but Layla noticed that he tended to steam in the rain and left wide paths in the snow. She was grateful for his warmth and pressed against him, surprised at how natural the fit was.
As she drifted slowly toward sleep, Layla was surprised to find that thinking about Will hurt less, and that she no longer felt the loneliness that had been surrounding her for a long time.
Layla sighed as Warren's arm tightened around her and sleep finally claimed her.
So, I totally hate the ending. It feels rushed, but this is the third time I've rewritten it and I still don't like it. Any suggestions? Review!