"…We need to talk."

Eris dropped her bags on the ground and scowled at Warren.

"Sure let's talk. But what about, hmm? I don't know... how about the fact that you totally stood me up last night? What about that, Warren?"

"That doesn't matter right now. What matters is the fact that you were hanging out with Lash last night. You know what he's done, so why would you even bother spending any time with him?"

Eris made a noise of irritation and threw up her hands. "Oh, so you can't be bothered to keep your date with me, but you still have plenty of time to spy on me?! For your information, Lash is a really nice guy. He actually cares about what I think and about how I feel, unlike some other people I could name!"

"Still, I don't think you spend any time with him. He tried to kill most of the school last year, in case you forgot."

"Well how could I, considering that you keep constantly reminding me? And who are you to tell me what to do anyways? If you'd rather lecture me on who I choose to spend my time with, than explain to me why you couldn't possibly find time to keep our date last night, I don't think we have anything else to say to each other."

Warren growled and raked his hands through his hair. "Eris..."

Sparks of lightening began to flicker across Eris's eyes and thunder rumbled ominously outside.

"Get out."

"Eris, just listen to me..."

"No." The thunder grew louder and a bolt of lightening struck a tree incredibly close to the house. "Get out."

Warren growled again and stormed towards the front door. "Fine, I'm going."

Eris heard the front door slam shut and then the sound of Warren's motorcycle peal off down the street. Rain was pounding heavily against the windows now and it matched the tears that were streaking down her cheeks. Slumping to the floor, Eris buried her face in the couch cushions and let out a muffled wail.

A few minutes later, her sobs subsided and she sat up, wiping her face off. Across the room, her cellphone rang, chiming out the chorus of AFI's Miss Murder. Eris slowly clambered to her feet and stumbled over to her purse.

Fishing the phone out, she flipped it open and lifted it to her ear.

"Hello?"

"E-Eris?"

"Layla, what's wrong?"

"It's-it's Will. H-he dumped me."

Eris heard the other girl break into a fresh round of sobs and her heart seized up.

"Did he say why?"

"N-n-nooo!"

"Do you want me to come over?"

She heard Layla sniffle a few more times and then meekly murmur "Uh-huh."

"Okay, I'll call Magenta and we'll be right over, 'kay?"

"T-thanks. You're a really good friieennnd..."

Layla burst into another round of sobs and Eris had to spend a few more minutes comforting her, before she could hang up and call Magenta.

Rain squished up through Eris's toes ever time she took a step and she glared up at the sky and growled.

Stupid weather. Stupid powers. I can start a torrential rain if I'm pissed off enough, but apparently I'm still not strong enough to stop one.

Swiping her wet hair out of her eyes, she pulled her sodden jacket closer around her and rang Layla's doorbell.

Layla's mom answered, with a sad expression on her face.

"It's good to see you, Eris. Layla's up in her room."

"Okay. Thanks."

Peeling her shoes off, she left her jacket on the back of one of the kitchen chairs and jogged up the stairs to Layla's room.

The other girl was sitting on her bed, a pillow clutched tightly to her stomach and an expression on her face that would make you think her puppy just died.

"Hey."

Layla sniffled in response and curled closer into the pillow.

"When did he tell you?"

"This morning. We had a breakfast date and he showed up really late and then told me. And he was looking all weird too."

"He looked weird?"

"Yeah, like some sort of Warren clone. No offense," she said hastily, seeing the dark look on Eris's face.

"None taken. Feel free to say anything about him. I don't care."

Layla reached over and squeezed Eris's knee. "You guys had a fight huh?"

"How'd you guess?"

"Well, I kinda got clued in when it went from being perfectly sunny and nice to insanely dark and rainy in a few seconds."

Eris hung her head, a light blush staining her cheeks. "Yeah, that was me. But if you don't mind, I'd rather not talk about it right now. Maybe later."

"Okay."

"So what do you mean Will looked like a Warren clone?"

"Well, for one thing he's dyed his hair black."

"What?!"

Layla smiled slightly. "I know. I was surprised too. And he was wearing black jeans and a black t-shirt and sweatshirt. I almost didn't recognize him when he walked in the door."

"Wow. So what did he say?"

"That he felt we'd 'grown apart' and that he wanted to see other people. I mean, how stupid is that?"

"That's really stupid. It's like the oldest line in the book."

"I know."

"So that was it? No explanation for the sudden change or anything?"

"Nope."

"Well, pardon me for saying this, but I personally think that Mr. Will Stronghold is a bit of a moron."

Layla giggled and then quickly covered her mouth.

"Oh c'mon, Layla. You're allowed to laugh now. You aren't dating him anymore."

Layla looked like she was about to cry for a second, but then she straightened her shoulders and nodded sharply. "That's right. I'm not. He dumped me, so he can't complain if I decide I want to date someone else. Someone who really likes me."

Eris reached over and hugged Layla tightly. "Exactly. You wanna go see if Magenta's here yet?"

Layla hugged Eris back and then nodded again. "Sure. And Eris?"

"Yeah?"

"Thanks."