Best Friend
She thinks no one notices like she has invisibility or something. She thinks no one sees when he goes to kiss her lovingly and she turns just at the right moment and avoids lip contact. Then there's the look in her eyes when he tells her those three precious little words. In response, she giggles and pulls him close before bringing up an old memory from their childhood. She thinks she's so sly, but she's wrong. For once, Layla Williams is wrong.
Yes, I notice. It's me, Zach, the other best friend, the giant glowing tree with the charming personality and the rouged good looks. Ha, I mean, sense of humor. With my height and bright blonde hair, I'm sure I'm hard to miss, yet I don't get recognition like the son of the city's two greatest heroes or the son of the most deadly villain in Maxville history.
Still, I have ears. I have eyes.
I followed her one night after convincing myself that I had a best friend duty to fulfill. Her boyfriend, my best friend, Will, was half-way around the world with his parents saving the day as usual. Suspicion kept me five steps behind her, watching the redhead briskly walk down the dark streets of Maxville.
"Hey, I'm still waiting for that five dollar new student fee…"
A large hand wrapped securely around her mouth, preventing a scream to escape her lips. The moment the cold hand collided with her pink lips, her body trembled slightly. Another hand traveled across her waist, shoving her back against a lean torso. She felt a man's breath slide across her ear, a drastic contrast to the man's frigid fingertips.
My blood boiled at the sight of the boy, standing under the streetlight. He was tall and thin, his messy brown hair falling to conceal his eyes as he leaned close to her ear, his breath hot against her delicate skin. I could feel my anger getting the best of me, fingers curling into fists and slightly shaking. He was the high school bully, the high school dropout, the guy that shoved me into a locker numerous times freshman year. He is Lash.
I looked to Layla and she didn't look startled or alarmed once he released her. On the contrary, her glossed lips stretched into a grin. It was baffling. I've never seen her face light up like that before, not the first time Will kissed her on Homecoming night, not after each and every report card. Never.
Layla said nothing. Longing gleamed in her big brown eyes as she turned towards him, her arms automatically wrapping around his neck, drawing him closer. He smirked though the arrogance that was typically Lash seemed completely gone. He protectively held Layla at her hips as if telling every other guy in the deserted alleyway that he's hers at least for tonight, at least for this lingering moment.
Lash capturing her lips in one quick swoop, tried of seeing her moist lips, but not being pressed against them. It seemed as if time had stopped. Layla returned the kiss eagerly, her fingers delicately combed through his dark hair, moving towards the nape of his neck. Lash pulled at the denim belt loops of her jeans as if he needed her to be closer to ensure she was really there.
When oxygen became a necessity, Layla slowly pulled away despite Lash's aggressiveness, her bottom lip trembling slightly. He slowly backed away, his forehead resting against hers. He watched her eyebrows narrow before she used the back of her hand to playfully smacking him against the shoulder.
"What the hell, Green Peace?"
"You seriously scared Ethan and Zach with the whole student fee scam," she scolded. That arrogance returned to his facial features as he leaned back against the wall of graffiti. "You're a jerk."
"If you're gonna be my girl you're gonna have to get use to that," Lash warned her, his full attention on the pretty redhead before him. He traced his rough fingertips against her cheek, gently moving up to brush strands of her hair away from her unguarded eyes.
"Um, your girl?" Layla asked, playfully shoving him up against the wall. Lash shied away like a puppy after being squirted with a bottle of water though that smirk still remained on his face. "Lash, you make me sound like your possession. It's degrading."
"Whatever," Lash dismissed the statement and pulled away from her grasp. He walked towards the exit of the alley and I could feel my heart begin to beat faster. If Lash realized he had an audience, he wasn't going to be happy.
"Lash, what am I going to do with you?" Layla laughed before following him and wrapping her arms around his arm. She looked up at him with sincerity illuminating in her bright eyes. "I'm sorry I called you a jerk."
"It's okay. I am one," Lash laughed, wrapping his arm around her waist, pulling her close up against his ribs. "If it bothers you so much…I guess…I won't call you my girl…Green Peace?"
"Fine," Layla sighed with playful exasperation. "Green Peace it is."
I turned away, embarrassed that I had gotten so caught up in the scene I just witnessed. Burrowing my fists into the pockets of my yellow jacket, I began to walk, frowning. To say that I was confused was an understatement. As long as I've known Layla, she's been sweet and pretty and good. Lash is the complete opposite. He's cruel, grungy and bad. What drew such a good girl to bad boy?
The female mind was something I gave up trying to understand. It didn't matter anyways. All that mattered was the fact that she was cheating on Will Stronghold. Will is the noblest dude I've ever known. He's faithful and always does the right thing. He'd never hurt Layla. Why would she put her heart on the line? All that could come from a steamy affair with an ex-convict is heartache. Why didn't Layla understand?
To be brutally honest, for the next few weeks, I became a man obsessed. I couldn't look at Layla Williams the same way anymore. Holding hands with Will and strutting down the halls of Sky High by day yet sneaking out for hot makeout sessions with Lash by night. She was living two different lives. I knew I was going to be the one to show her that she needed to make a choice before anyone else got hurt.
"Layla," I whispered as I walked towards her locker, the intoxicating scent of honeysuckle lingering in the area. She gave me a bright smile and in that moment I wanted to believe her. I wanted to believe that she was this nice little girl who hasn't been corrupted, who hasn't turned to the dark side. In that moment, I realized that wasn't possible.
"Hey Zach," Layla responded white stuffing her binder into her knapsack. "Let me guess, you want Hero Studies notes, right? I saw you sorta zoning during class. Is there something on your mind?"
"Yeah, sorta," I responded vaguely, leaning against the wall of lockers. "Maj, she doesn't get that I need to be the more dominant one in the relationship. She keeps calling me out because I refer to her as my girl."
"She has a right to," Layla stated with the shrug of her shoulders. "It's degrading to women to be identified simply as someone's possession."
"I'm being a jerk, right?" I asked and I'm sure she noticed the anger rising in my voice. Her books slipped from her arms and hit the floor, the crash echoing down the hallway. Her eyes were wide with fear like a deer caught in the headlights.
"What did you just say?"
"I saw you with that dude in the alleyway!" I practically shouted with eyes narrowing into a glare. With the expression on her face, it was hard to be angry, but I was thinking about Will, fulfilling the best friend duty once again. "Lay, you have Will. Why? Why him?"
No answer. I continued.
"He's a villain! He helped Royal Pain almost crash the school into the ground while we were all in it! He dunked Ethan's head in the toilet on a regular basis! He shoved me into lockers and stole lunch money!" I raged on. "You can't fix a guy like that, Layla. He's way too far gone already. Will is the perfect boyfriend! I've never seen him degrade you or purposefully hurt you ever! All I want to know is why Lash? Why Lash over Will?"
"I LOVE HIM!"
I can't recall any other moment in my sixteen years of life where I had been completely speechless. Tears streamed down her porcelain cheeks; ruining the little makeup she had been wearing. With a growl of irritation, Layla slammed her back against the metal doors of the lockers and slid down until she was sitting and sobbing.
"Layla, I-"
"You're right," Layla whispered. "He did do all those bad things and I probably can't fix him, but, God, Zach, I-I'm completely in love with him. He probably doesn't return the feeling and is gonna dump me the second things get serious, but I can't help it. I hate myself for always getting stuck in this position as the girl who wants what she can never have."
"You love him?" I repeated before collapsing beside her, also slamming the back of my head against the cold metal of the lockers. I tilted my head slightly and looked at one of my oldest childhood friends. "Wow…"
"You can't tell anyone," she begged, grabbing onto my forearm for emphasis. "Please Zach. Magenta would obviously freak and hunt Lash down. Warren would barbeque him. Oh God, Will…"
"I don't think anyone would believe me if I tried to tell them," I responded truthfully. I could hardly believe it even after seeing the couple share an intimate moment in an alleyway. How would the gang believe word-of-mouth? "You need to tell Will."
"I don't want to hurt him."
"That's looking pretty inevitable right now, Lay," I exhaled sharply and pursed my lips. It was a difficult situation. I shifted slightly and looked over at her. The redhead seemed to be deep in thought, staring across the nearly empty hallway. I was overcome with confusion when seeing her suddenly chuckle despite her tears and apparent frustration.
"What's so funny?"
"We were sitting like this once before," Layla called without eye contact, continuing to stare at the wall of lockers opposite of them. "That day in Miss Lindy's class where you broke Will's crayons. You were crying under the jungle gym and I was there for you."
I also chuckled. "That was second grade…"
"Yeah, and this isn't about crayons," Layla nodded knowingly. "Do you remember what I told you?"
I could feel my face scrunching into a distorted look as I tried to recall that day so long ago. I remember being tiny with bright hair. I was probably the smallest boy in our class, even smaller than scrawny Will Stronghold. Then there was Layla with her pigtails and blunt concern. She was pretty much the same caring and loving person just a miniature version.
"I think, don't hate if I get it wrong because second grade was forever ago," I warned with a humorous tone of voice. "I think you told me that you'd be there for me and you wouldn't say anything. You said Will should hear it from me and only me."
"Correct Zach Attack," Layla beamed and I gave her a little smile of appreciation. I don't care what anyone says. Zach Attack is a freaking cool name and I call dibs. "Do you remember what you said back?"
I paused for a moment. This was an easy question. "I said you were my best friend."
"I'm asking for the same thing," Layla pleaded with her eyebrows slightly slanted to emphasize her desire for his approval. "I'm not ready to tell Will and I don't know when I will be but I want him to hear it from me. Please, Zach."
Honestly, how did I get myself into this situation? By honoring my best friend responsibility to Will I was breaking my responsibility to Layla. I just realized that Layla was just as much my best friend as Will. Layla was the one I always talked to when Maj and I were having trouble. Layla always helped me with homework and let me borrow her notes. Layla didn't tell Will about the crayons even to this day.
"Sure," I gave in and watched a beautiful smile stretch across her pretty face. Her arms immediately wrapped around my broad shoulders and I felt her press a quick kiss to my forehead. "On one condition…"
Layla paused and leaned back, waiting with anxiety.
I forced a smile. "I'm going to need those Hero Studies notes because I was totally spacing during that lecture."
"Anything," Layla grinned and bounced to her feet, returning to her locker that still remained open. She pulled a notebook from the rectangle of metal and handed it to me. I continued to smile and nodded to show my gratitude. "You really are my best friend, Zach."
"You too, Layla," I responded despite the feeling in the pit of my stomach that told me this was wrong. Of course, she had a point. This concerned Will and her. All I could do was stand by and pick up the pieces once she dropped that nuclear bomb.
She reached out her hand and I stared at it for a moment. The gang was probably waiting and wondering about the whereabouts of the boy as tall as a tree and the girl who loved trees. I wanted to take her hand and pretend that everything was fine but it wasn't. She was flirting with the dark side and nothing good could ever come from that.
Inwardly sighing, I grabbed onto her hand and allowed the redhead to pull me to my feet. I realized that I couldn't make decisions for her. Layla was going to do what makes her happy and make choices on how she wants to live her life. Will and Warren are so concerned about saving her, protecting her but not me. She was going to do what she wants and I am going to stand by her side.
Why?
Because I'm the best friend and I've accepted that.
fini