Hi! Sorry it has taken so incredibly long to return, but hopefully this chapter will tide you over until I can finish up the last two... and, just to let you know, they are totally almost finished. Well, one of them. Maybe.
But anyway, here you are!
Loves, Maeke
Magenta would be the first to admit she was not always the most willing participant in things.
She would sometimes rather sit out than engage, but she still engaged. She didn't exactly want to help save the world, but she did. She didn't exactly like to dance, but she did. She didn't really like parties, but she still went. She didn't want to sit next to the senior gossip girls of Sky High, but she did.
"I still can't believe he snapped like that," one of them muttered. She was Sarah; small, blonde, telekinetic. "I mean, did you see what happened to his house?"
Magenta rolled her eyes, hardly able to believe the topic they had chosen to discuss again. The school had been buzzing non-stop about Warren's surprise party and the aftermath for the past three days—as if the weekend hadn't been long enough—and she was getting rather sick of it.
"I know! But did you hear the latest on Layla?" That was Brittany; tall, brunette, telepathic. She appeared to be their leader. "Apparently, she's been dating Warren behind Will's back for months!"
"No!" They all looked completely happy about the scandalous nature of this news.
"Yeah, ever since this last homecoming. Remember that party at Rebecca Hartwigson's?"
"The one where Layla got drunk?" That was Wendy; pale, Asian, technopathic.
Brittany nodded. "Apparently, that's where they had their first lover's tryst."
Tryst? Magenta thought. More like a drunken kiss. God…don't you people have lives?
Brittany stiffened, then turned around. "Excuse me?"
Magenta raised an eyebrow. "What?"
"If you're thinking something about me, you should say it."
"It's a bit rude to barge in on people's thoughts."
"It's not like I can help it when you're practically shouting them at me," Brittany said in a tone that was meant to be scathing.
"I wasn't shouting my thoughts, I was thinking them. Excuse me for believing I had some privacy in my own head."
Brittany rolled her eyes and turned back to Wendy and Sarah, picking back up on the conversation. "I can't believe she would do something like that. Especially with Will's best friend. I mean…"
"I would," Wendy broke in. "Warren is one of the more attractive men at this school."
"Of course he is, but pure attractiveness doesn't mean you get to go behind your boyfriend and be with his best friend."
"He must be feisty in bed," Wendy giggled, not really listening.
"It's just so tragic," Sarah said. "Layla was always such a good girl. Now she's gone off and made herself a harlot."
Brittany raised her perfectly shaped eyebrow. "Harlot?"
"My mother called her that."
Magenta couldn't believe it. They were sharing this kind of gossip with their mothers? Didn't they have any respect for Layla's feelings?
"I bet this is like, some cry for attention or something," Brittany said, tossing her hair. "I mean, remember sophomore year, when they 'pretended' to date to get Will jealous?"
"I was jealous," Wendy admitted.
Brittany rolled her eyes. "Maybe she actually wants Will and is just seeing how far he'll go to get her back."
"Have you ever thought maybe she just made a mistake?" Magenta piped up. All three turned to face her simultaneously. It would have been amusing, had Magenta not been so annoyed with them. "I mean, it's not like she was planning to ruin her life or…cause a scandal. She made a mistake, and everyone should just get over it."
The trio looked prepared to respond, but just then, the bell rang. Deciding she wasn't really worth responding to, the girls stood and shouldered their bags—still in unison—and cat-walked their way out of the classroom.
Magenta rolled her eyes. The rumors that had been flitting around were starting to get on her nerves. Some—like that Will and Warren were actually having a lover's spat, and Layla was just caught in the middle—were just too outlandish for her to consider. Others—like that Warren and Layla had already been dating for a while—hit a bit too close to the truth.
Many students had also taken sides, which Magenta thought totally unnecessary, and most had sided with Will. People Will had hardly ever spoken to before were walking up to him in the halls, offering to beat Warren up or words of encouragement. A few came up to Layla, though, offering support and understanding.
Zach, one of the few who actually had any right to take sides, had sided with Will, having had a much longer history with him. Ethan remained neutral, too afraid of either party to take sides. Magenta refused to take part for the sheer lunacy of the situation.
As a result, lunch had been turning into an awkward situation. Zach wanted her to sit with him and Will, while Layla was looking awful lonely at a table by herself, and Ethan just tried to find a safe middle ground. Magenta decided to take her meal outside.
She was perfectly fine with it—out here there was no one glaring across the lunchroom, no one whispering over who did what. Out here, she could think.
And, of course, what did her thoughts turn to? The fight. She remembered it well, if only for the sheer fact that Warren didn't fight back for very much of it. She only wished she had realized something had been wrong before Warren came flying through Will's front wall.
At first, most of the guests stood in complete shock, especially when Will came storming through after Warren. He stood up and shook off the drywall dust, but it seemed to keep floating from him.
"Is he smoking?" Ethan muttered excitedly. "I think he's smoking!" Magenta hushed him.
"Will, I don't want to fight you," Warren said carefully, his fists clenching and unclenching.
"Will, this is stupid! Calm down! Look what you did to your house!" Layla stepped over the remains of the wall.
Will didn't seem to care. He stalked forward, saying, "You're going to wish you never met me." Magenta had never seen anyone so angry—and that included the boys' fights at school and various superhero vs. archnemesis battles.
"Who says I don't already?" Warren replied. Will sent him flying into the kitchen.
Layla and Zach were the first to follow. Magenta and company followed. "Why did you do it, Warren?" Will was asking, clutching at Warren's collar and lifting him from the rubble. "Why?"
"I didn't mean to, Will. God, do you think people mean to—" Warren stopped himself, as if aware of all the people and afraid to spill too much in front of them. He was struggling against Will's strong grip, but wouldn't flame up.
"Dude, what's going on?" Zach asked, obviously trying to stop them before even more property was destroyed.
Will glared in Zach's general direction. "Stay out of this."
"Will, stop," Layla tried again.
Layla's discouragement only seemed to fuel Will. He threw Warren out into the backyard. "Fight back!" he yelled, picking Warren up again by the collar. Warren was still smoking, and seemed to be struggling against flaring up. "Fight back, you coward!"
Warren glanced at Layla, before struggling to say the next sentence. "I promised her I wouldn't."
"Magenta?"
She looked up to see Layla standing there. Speak of the devil. She was looking a bit nervous, but even more tired. "Hey. What's up?"
"Can I—can I sit with you?"
Magenta shrugged, then moved her backpack from the wall beside her and placed it at her feet; Layla took the previously occupied space. Magenta silently offered chips from her bag, but Layla turned them down. They sat in silence for a few minutes, until Layla burst out.
"Do you hate me?"
"No." She didn't even have to think about it.
Layla looked surprised. "You don't?"
"Why would I?"
"Because—because I—"
"I don't really care if you've been with Warren behind Will's back. It's not my business."
Layla sighed. "Why can't everyone be like that?"
"Because everyone is an idiot."
Layla smiled weakly, before looking back at the ground. "Will won't even talk to me anymore."
"You did kind of get with his best friend. He's going to be angry for a while."
"Yeah, I know…but I'm his best friend, too. At least, I used to be."
Magenta shrugged. "Things change."
Layla sighed, the puff sending a piece of her red bangs flying. "You can say that again."
"Things change."
Layla caught sight of Magenta's grin and smiled. "…Thanks."
Magenta shrugged again, and they just sat in silence. Well, except for Magenta munching on the last of her chips. Layla seemed content, however, to just sit there until the bell rang, signaling the end of lunch. When that happened, Layla slowly stood, shouldering her bag. "See you tomorrow," she said quietly, before disappearing back inside.
She didn't really mean to take sides, but she did.
