"What made you change your mind?" Layla asked Will after around two hours of pointless phone conversation.
"Huh?"
Layla smiled, snuggling under her covers and switching the ear her grape-purple phone was held against. "You know," she said, "about me. You know? That day when your ex-girlfriend decided to turn everyone into infants?"
"Oh," he said, and laughed, which kind of warmed her heart. "Well, maybe it had something to do with my ex-girlfriend turning everyone into infants?"
"Ha ha. Really." She played with a strawberry-red curl, tossing again and musing inwardly about how different her boyfriend's voice sounded on the phone.
"Well," he said carefully, "I guess I realized what was in front of my eyes all along… I saw who truly cared for me, instead of someone who didn't really see me. Or," he said hastily, "if you will, someone who was a psychotic old lady."
Layla smiled.
It was another hour later that they finally hung up. Layla peeked at her clock (one of those pointlessly cute bobbing ones) and winced. 3:30 AM. She would be getting up in a few hours.
If she was still exhausted in the morning, she figured the ride to school would wake her up, and tossed again as she considered where she was in life. She hadn't created an environment-protecting society yet, but she had recently aided in saving the world. She and her friends were safe. She'd proved that sidekicks could seriously kick some…side. AND she'd gotten the guy she'd been in love with for years.
Her best friend.
Because he saw her now.
She tossed and turned some more.
"What made you change your mind?"
Warren turned around, cocking an eyebrow at her. "Huh?"
"About wearing the tuxedo. You know. The other day, when Will's ex-girlfriend decided to turn-"
"Wow," he said, and slammed his locker, "why on earth does that matter?"
"Sorry," she said, fiddling with her skirt- too long today, getting in the way of her feet when she walked- "I just never asked. And, I don't know, you said you weren't going to wear one, remember?"
"Obviously," he said, and started walking to Heroic Disguises 101, his long legs a bit too fast for her, "but I figured that'd be rude."
You really don't worry about that too much, she thought wryly, filmy green material almost tripping her again as she walked with him. Or, you know, followed him.
"You really don't worry about that too-ARUGH."
She'd tripped on the skirt, landing smack on her butt. I knew it was gonna happen, she cursed silently. Warren turned around and looked down at her, holding out a half-gloved hand. His hair was in his eyes. "I know," he said, helping her up, "and stop being clumsy."
"Hey, I'm not clumsy."
"Okay. Then don't wear lethal clothing. See ya, hippie." He disappeared into his classroom and Layla smoothed her skirt, figuring she should probably get to her own class.
Lunch was normal that day. It had only been three days since the Homecoming incident, but things were already disturbingly normal. Guess that's life, Layla thought, her hand in Will's, her mind not really in the conversation her table was having. She attempted to tune in.
Ethan seemed to be talking about some old Nickelodeon show he could relate to. "See," he said, his wide smile revealing his super-white teeth, "people loved Alex Mack. They thought it was cool she could melt."
"I loved that show," Zach said, sipping a carton of chocolate milk.
"I actually found it pretty annoying," Magenta chimed in.
"Me too," Zach agreed.
Will laughed, shaking his head, and he and Layla exchanged a look. "Does she know how crazy about her he is?" he whispered in her ear, and she grinned.
"Pretty sure. I think she finds it endearing," she whispered back, and the rest of the table looked at them, as if they were muttering the sweet nothings of lovers. As they all cracked up, Will stood. "I'll be right back," he said, "nature calls."
"Well, you are in close contact with nature," Zach said, wiggling his eyebrows, and Layla smacked his arm from across the table.
"Actually," Warren said, "I said renting."
He was sitting broodingly on the other side of where Will had been sitting, and Layla looked over at him quizzically. He'd been silent most of the lunch period, which wasn't really that out-of-character. "Huh?"
"A tuxedo. I said I wouldn't rent one. I didn't say I wouldn't wear one."
"Oh, yeah," she said. The other three were talking again, but she felt a tangible silence. Probably because it was a stupid topic, she figured. Tuxedos. Hah. "That would make sense," she said carefully.
More silence.
"Wasn't that crazy?" she said, making herself laugh, "you giving me advice back when you and Will hated each other, and then us going to homecoming to get back at him and Gwen-psycho-lady and-"
"Yep," he said, setting his salad on fire, "pretty crazy."
She frowned. "Burnt salad?"
"I like it that way." He smiled, showing his teeth.
Will returned, sitting between them and putting his arm around her shoulder.
That night, she dropped into bed at ten, but still tossed and turned. Will was so amazing. Such a good guy. A good friend. A good boyfriend, even though it'd taken him a while to see the potential...
"I guess I realized what was in front of my eyes all along," he'd said the previous night. "I saw who truly cared for me, instead of someone who didn't really see me."
"…I saw who truly cared for me…"
"…I saw who truly cared for me…"
"…I saw who truly cared for me …"
In another bed, in another room, Warren Peace was tossing and turning as well.
I really wish I didn't give such freaking good advice, was his only thought.