I don't own Sky High. Or Dante's Inferno.
"Hey Warren!"
Warren looked up from his book. He was sitting on the low wall in front of Sky High as Layla Williams sat beside him.
"Hey Hippie."
"So guess what!"
Warren sighed. "What"
"Will and I broke up. Well I broke up with him but it was a mutual agreement so dose that mean we broke up with eachoth-"
"Wait! You broke up with Stronghold. What happened to your always and forever blah blah blah?"
"Welll… it was just so… it was just sooo…" Layla twirled her hands trying to find the right word, "so blah". "There was no chemistry, no real attraction, no..no.."
Warren snapped his fingers sending orange glowing embers into the air, "No sparks?" he offered.
Layla laughed "Yeah. No sparks." She said smiling.
Good God Warren loved her smile. Most people were lucky if their smile reached their eyes. Her's filled the whole room filling it with a warm glow. He was in love with her and had been since that first night in The Paper Lantern. But she had wanted Will so he gave into her little scheme and pretended to be happy when it had all worked out. Over the rest of their freshmen and Warren's sophomore year they had become friends. Will and Warren had become best friends and now even Mr. and Mrs. Stronghold looked at him as a second son. Warren still had some issues being able to stand Zach and Ethan. Magenta was cool though she had her moments where she tapped into Zach's personality. Hey guess it comes with dating and being with someone nearly 24/7.
"So what are you reading?" Layla asked.
Warren marked his spot and turned the cover twards her.
"Dante's Inferno? Isn't that… you know dark and depressing?
"Not really. It's actually really good. Dante had a real sense of poetic justice. What ever crimes you commit in life you pay for eternally in hell. Here listen: Now the woeful notes begin to make themselves heard; now am I come where much lamentation smites me. I had come into a place mute of all light, that bellows as the sea does in a tempest, if it be combated by opposing winds. The infernal hurricane that never rests carries along the spirits in its rapine; whirling and smiting it molests them. When they arrive before its rushing blast, here are shrieks, and bewailing, and lamenting; here they blaspheme the power divine. I understood that to such torment are condemned the carnal sinners who subject reason to appetite. And as their wings bear along the starlings in the cold season in a troop large and full, so that blast the evil spirits; hither, thither, down, up it carries them; no hope ever comforts them, not of repose, but even of less pain.
And as the cranes go singing their lays, making in air a long line of themselves, so saw I come, uttering wails, shades borne along by the aforesaid strife. Wherefore I said, "Master, who are those folk whom the black air so castigates?" "The first of these of whom thou wishest to have knowledge," said he to me then, "was empress of many tongues. To the vice of luxury was she so abandoned that lust she made licit in her law, to take away the blame she had incurred. She is Semiramis, of whom it is read that she succeeded Ninus and had been his spouse; she held the land which the Soldan rules. That other is she who, for love, killed herself, and broke faith to the ashes of Sichaeus. Next is Cleopatra, the luxurious. See Helen, for whom so long a time of ill revolved; and see the great Achilles, who at the end fought with love. See Paris, Tristan,—" and more than a thousand shades he showed me with his finger, and named them, whom love had parted from our life. "
"Okay" Layla said confused. "What's that mean?"
Warren chuckled. "In life all these people allowed themselves to be swepted by they're lust. The betrayed their marriages, families and others to give into they're passions."
"Wow, that's kind of cool I guess." Layla replied
Layla still looked a little disturbed so Warren decided to change the subject.
"So how are you going to spend your first day of freedom?" Warren asked with a smile.
"I was thinking we'd all go down to the river. It's still warm. We could take a picnic dinner." She exclaimed excitedly.
"Wait. All? As in Will too?"
They had spent nearly all summer down at the river. They'd pack a lunch and spend the whole day there. Then when it got dark Warren would light a bon fire and they'd hang out and laugh way into the night. Instead of catching fireflies they'd chase after Zach.
"Yeah why not? I mean we've been friends since 1st grade. It's all good. It won't be wired. I promise." She said laying a hand on his arm.
Layla was the only one allowed to touch him. If it had been anyone else they would have lost and arm. Warren high fived his friends on occasion but they kept a hands off approach otherwise.
After a moment of weighing his options: "Alright. Go tell the others. We'll meet at my place then head down to the river." Warren sighed. Layla smiled and squeezed his arm gently. Then she bounded away off to relay tonight's event to the rest of the gang. As she ran Warren watched the sun glinting off her hair. It shinned brighter than rubies. His life sucked. Royally and undeniably sucked. He was in love with his best friend's ex-girlfriend. Guy code clearly marked her off limits. Love sucks.