Chapter Two
- In Which Layla Keeps Her Mouth Zipped All Too Well -

"What's going on?" Maj asked Warren as they began to close up the restaurant.

"What do you mean?"

"You've been miserable ever since Layla left."

"Maj, when have I even had time to be miserable?"

There had been an unexpected dinner rush that evening, and they had been run off their feet.

"You look like you've just lost your best friend."

It was an ironic choice of words really.

"There's a bunch of smashed glass in the corner booth, by the way," Maj added.

"That's just great," Warren muttered.

The bell above the door jangled as Zack Braun walked into the store. Every Friday, Zack came to pick up his regular order of one lonely wonton soup and one hopeless fortune cookie. He always stuck around for a chat before heading back to his presumably equally depressing apartment nearby. Warren had been aware of Zack since high school, but had only recently come to consider him worth more than a sentence or two.

"What's happening?" Zack asked them.

"Not much," Maj replied.

"How's work?" Warren asked.

"App's glitching out again, and I had some dude ask for a refund because his date lied about her height on her profile."

Zack had recently launched an online dating app, Firefly, that was starting to pick up some business. Through his weekly visits, Warren was learning that things didn't always run smoothly when it came to the business of love.

"Tough day then," Maj said.

"You know it. You two should reconsider letting me get you set up on Firefly. I really need the numbers."

Warren grimaced. What fresh hell is this?

"No way in hell, man. Not my scene."

"Not your scene! You mean, anyone without orange hair and a green outfit from the thrift store isn't your scene," Maj joked.

"Oh yeah! How is Layla?" Zack asked.

"Fine," Warren told him.

"She's taking Warren away on holiday with her," Magenta told Zack.

Zack's eyes lit up.

"It's not like that," Warren told them.

"Like what?" Zack asked. "Like she's finally seeing what everyone else has been seeing forever?"

"It's not happening, man," Warren told him. "Layla wants me to go with her to make Will jealous.

"What!"

"That's-"

"It was my idea," Warren told them hastily.

Both of them were looking at him like he'd lost his mind.

"She's in love with him."

"You're kidding?" Zack asked.

"I'm not."

"So What? That's it?" Zack asked. "You're just going to give up and let Mr-Daddy's-Money snatch her up?"

"Give up? I have been waiting years for her to see me as more than a friend, Zack. I'm not waiting for her anymore like some kind of idiot."

"When have you ever done anything to make her see you differently?" Magenta asked.

Never. He'd never tried, but what had been the point in her seeing him as more than a friend when she was so determined to feel nothing for everyone she ever got close to? Obviously Will was the exception to the rule.

Warren sighed, leaning against the worn countertop in front of him. "You know what? It doesn't matter. I'm getting over her."

"In that case, you'll let me put your profile up."

Warren glared at Zack.

"You totally should," Zack said. "How are you going to move on without some honey to move on with?"

"He's gross... but he's right," Magenta said. "If you're serious…"

"I am serious."

Both Maj and Zack looked at Warren like they didn't believe him. Could he blame them? He'd been in love with Layla for the entirety of their adult lives.

"Fine," Warren said. "Put it up. Your app sucks, nothing's gonna happen anyway."

"I'm ignoring that hurtful comment on account of your fragile state right now, my man. Anyway, you know what else you need to move on?" Zack asked, looking Warren up and down.

"Not a make-over."

"What? Nah man, I was just gonna say a smile once in a while."

"Maybe ditch the soupy apron though..."

"Thanks Maj."

A little over two weeks later, Warren was finishing up throwing all his shirts into a suitcase without bothering to fold them. A moment later, he heard Layla's familiar knock on the door. Today they would board the first of the three connecting flights to Queensland, Australia.

Despite his previous protest, Warren had made just a hint of an effort on his appearance that morning. His jeans were unusually stain-free, and his hair was clean and held back in a loose bun. Maj had insisted on helping him touch up his red streak, so it was a striking slash of colour amongst the rest of his monochrome attire.

Warren had to admit he was feeling confident today. He moved his case from the bed to the hall and opened the door.

It was a good day for flying, Layla noted, as she waited on Warren's doorstep. Blue skies, minimal wind. She found herself looking forward to the week. Yes, it was a compulsory work event, but Australia was supposed to be beautiful. She couldn't wait for Warren to see it, and she was looking forward to spending the week with him. Layla checked her watch, making sure they had plenty of time to get to the airport. She was just about to knock again when Warren answered the door.

"Hi," Layla coughed out after a too-long pause as she took in his fresh appearance.

It wasn't like she'd never seen him cleaned up before. She'd driven him to court a few years prior, and she'd noticed him then as well. The angled line of his jaw framed so well by the few strands of hair that came loose when he tried to pull it all back into a bun. The confident precision of his fingers tucking those errant strands behind an ear. He was attractive, but normally Layla didn't dwell on the point. He was her best friend, and it wouldn't have done either of them any good for her to let certain thoughts get in the way of what they had.

Now, however, Layla didn't seem to have any control over the direction of her thoughts. And as he invited her into his apartment, and turned around to lead the way, Layla caught herself considering the width and movement of Warren's lithe shoulders, igniting a fire in her that threatened to burn away everything they were to each other.

"You showered?" she asked, only a hint of their usual teasing in her voice.

"What the fuck is that supposed to mean, Williams?"

Back to their usual selves.

It wasn't just the hair, Layla realized then. Warren's whole demeanour seemed altered. He seemed lighter, more at home in himself than Layla had seen him in months. Warren moved through the apartment quickly, grabbing the last of his things. Confidence looked good on him, Layla decided.

"Ready?" she asked him, needing to put some space between them.

He nodded. "You wouldn't care if I wasn't."

"Let's just go, Warren."

All of a sudden, Layla was more pleased than ever at the thought of spending the week with her friend. Stop it, she ordered herself. Just what the hell was she thinking? Warren was her best friend. She didn't think about him that way. She wasn't supposed to think about him that way. He'd be horrified if he could see the way she was imagining him right now. And she was in love with Will. Not Warren, she told herself. Never Warren. You don't mess around with your best friend. Big mistake.

When they arrived at the airport Layla noticed she wasn't the only one having trouble keeping their eyes off Warren. She caught more than one set of eyes stealing glances his way as they passed through the terminal. Layla gripped the handles of the suitcases she was carrying a little tighter and tried to keep her own eyes straight ahead.

Just when Layla was considering a joking game of "Are we there yet?", they reached the boarding gate for their flight. They were being directed on how to get to the tarmac when Layla saw Will and Gwen walking towards them, pushing a trolley piled high with luggage. Once Will spotted her, Layla slipped an arm around Warren's waist, resting her head on his high shoulder and closing the distance between them. Warren gazed down at her and cocked a single eyebrow; an expression which after years of friendship Layla had learned meant complete confusion. She gave a small nod in the direction of the other couple, fast approaching.

"Oh," he said, a shortness in his tone which had been absent until this point in the morning.

"Hi guys," Layla acknowledged with a paper-thin lightness to her voice once the four of them stood facing each other.

It seemed like the plan was working already, judging by the way Will was looking at Warren. What Layla hadn't counted on, however, was the way Gwen was looking at her friend. Warren and Gwen had met on several different occasions. Gwen had shown some interest in asking Warren out after the first time she'd met him, but Layla had put her off. At that time, she and Gwen could almost have been considered friends. Gwen hadn't mentioned it since then, and nothing had come of it. Then again, Gwen had been too busy competing with Layla, personally and professionally.

"It's good to see you again, Warren," Gwen said, giving him one of her typical doe-eyed smiles.

Will glared at Layla. "Why is he here? It's partners only."

"Oh yeah, Warren and I are together now," she told him.

"Since when? You told me he'd never be more than a friend."

"Things change."

Will looked at Warren. "Good for you buddy, you finally ditched the friend-zone! It was getting kinda sad there."

Warren hadn't really thought about what he would say to Will about his new relationship with Layla. Now that he was on the spot and with not much left to lose, making up a story seemed like more effort than it was worth. Fuck it.

"I know, man," Warren told him, ignoring Layla's subtle elbow to his side. "I've been in love with her since high school, so I guess it was bound to happen."

Warren looked so serious that for a moment Layla thought he was telling the truth, until she remembered she'd asked him to play a part in this charade. Of course he wasn't in love with her. He was just sticking to the plan; very convincingly.

"I told you he was in love with you. You never believed me," Will said accusingly.

"I guess I should have listened. Thanks for the tip, Will."

Warren let the exchange shift to silence. Comfortable for him, awkward for all others involved.

Layla's fingers tightened on his hip ever so slightly as she tilted her face up towards his, and Warren's breath caught as he realized what she was orchestrating here. He dipped his head and brushed his lips ever so softly against hers. Though the contact was fleeting it didn't lessen the impact. His heart slammed against his ribcage, as feelings that were years old were reignited inside of him.

Layla had intended the kiss to appear casual and easy, but there was nothing casual about her thoughts right now. She wrote off this new blooming desire for her friend as tied to the unusual thoughts she'd had earlier. For the second time that day, she reminded herself this was Warren.

"I suppose I should say I'm happy for you," Will said to them.

He clearly wasn't happy, and Layla had a brief moment of satisfaction before taking in Gwen's expression. By bringing Warren along as her date, Layla had re-sparked Gwen's interest in him, and now she was looking at Warren as if he were some kind of prize to be won. Layla felt sick. By using Warren to win Will back, she'd just ensured Gwen would see Warren's affection as another round in their competition.

"It's nice you'll be joining us anyway, Warren," Gwen said.

At that moment they were joined by more of their colleagues, saving Gwen and Layla from any not-so-subtle comments that may have ensued.

Warren wasn't a game, and Layla had no intention of letting her friend become a conquest of Gwen's. After greetings had been exchanged, the group of them made their way down to the tarmac and boarded the plane. Thankfully, Layla and Warren were seated some distance away from Will and Gwen.

"That went well," Warren said with his usual comfortable sarcasm.

"Yup."

"Will seemed to buy it."

"Well, you were very convincing," she said to him, shoving her carry-on under the chair and looking at him from the corner of her eye.

"You said to be believable."

"The whole high school thing was a nice touch," she said, looking at him properly now.

"I'm a creative man."

"What's with the confidence today? I mean, not that it's not a good look, but you seem happier than usual."

"Zack's set me up on Firefly. Figured I should get some practice in being chipper before I start going on a date a night."

"I- What?"

"Zack bullied me into signing up. It's probably payback for high school."

Layla felt as if she'd been trampled into the dirt. It was so sudden, she thought. He'd had a few partners over the years, and he'd definitely brought a few strays home on occasion. She knew that, even if she tried not to think about it, but he'd never been interested in seriously dating. Not that she knew of anyway. Now he was joining Zack's stupid app? He'd been so adamantly against it since it had launched. This made zero sense.

"Huh. This feels big. And very out of character for you. You've got to have a reason! Spill!"

"Just tired of the crushing loneliness, I guess," He was being dramatic now. But in every lie there's a grain of truth.

Of course it was reasonable, if overdramatic. She knew he'd eventually find someone he wanted to be with, but this seemed to come out of nowhere. He hadn't talked about it. Normally, he talked to her about everything. Something just didn't seem right. Something had triggered this and she was going to find what it was.

"How long have you been crying yourself to sleep?" More teasing. She was trying to get back to normal.

"Since I realized there's no shot with the person I really want."

He couldn't have shocked her more with that answer if he'd tried. She turned so that her whole body was facing him. "You're in love? With who? Since when?"

"Who said anything about love, Williams? Anyway, it doesn't matter, I'm over it."

Layla knew this was the closest to admitting any feelings Warren would ever get without a considerable number of fireball shots to help him out. He wasn't going to tell her, she realized. He gazed through the window, facing away. Layla felt irritation course through her. They told each other everything. Or at least she thought they did.

"You never even mentioned anything,"

"You've been preoccupied."

Hurtful!

Yeah, she'd been upset about Will. Okay, so she'd been devastated, but she always wanted to know what was happening with her friend. She was there for him. She was always interested. The fact that he thought she was too busy thinking about Will… too preoccupied to mention that he'd fallen in love, hurt like hell.

She looked back, trying to think of the last conversations they'd had. She must have asked him how he was doing at some point, though she was struggling right now to think of a conversation she'd had with him that didn't revolve around Will. Okay, so maybe she had been a little self-involved, but she'd been going through something. Obviously, so had he. Yet, here he was, helping her out despite the fact he was hurting over someone too. And, for another thing, who wouldn't want Warren? Who wouldn't be interested in him? He was too good for anyone they knew.

She would make it up to him, Layla decided. Sure, they were here to make Will jealous, and for work, but she would make it up to him. If he wanted to get over whatever it was that had happened, she would make sure he had the best week of his life. She would make sure he was so busy having fun that he wouldn't have time to think about it once. And then, maybe they could get their friendship back on track, because right now she felt like he was putting some kind of distance between them. He was holding back from her, and she didn't like it one bit.