Layla. Chapter Three:"She's A Beauty"
1986.
"There's nothin' goin' on between Layla and her friend Tommy, right?" Steve asked skeptically.
Evie gave him a strange look. "Not as far as I know," she shrugged, "Why?"
"Cause he's coming over later and they're gonna be up in her room alone."
Evie rolled her eyes. "Come on, Steve. They're just close friends. And besides, she knows the rules about guys in her room."
Evie knew that Steve always worried about those sorts of things, especially when it involved their daughters. Considering part of the reason they got married so young- aside from the fact that they really did love each other- they didn't want the same thing to happen to any of their three girls. Evie knew she was lucky when he said they he'd stay with her back in 19689, but she knew that not all people in their situation were as lucky as she had been.
Evie knew that Steve trusted their girls. That was a definite. It was the guys he didn't really seem to always trust. She believed that he didn't trust guys cause he was just like them once- or so he claimed that was the reasons. She tried to explain to him that guys weren't the only ones with the possibility of sex in a relationship on their minds, and that it's usually the girl who decides in the relationship if, when and where they'll have sex. He just changed the subject, though, saying he didn't want to think about the possibility of any of his daughters "doing that".
"Steve," Evie said gently, "You can trust Layla. And you can trust Tommy. And just for the record, you can trust Beck, Connor, and Rusty. And I'm pretty sure you can trust Maggie and Carter, too."
Steve let out a slight chuckle. "Alright," he caved in, "But I get to check on them once every half hour."
"Hour."
"Deal."
"If you must," she laughed, "Then fine."
-/-/-
The doorbell chime ran through the entire house, allowing all those inside to hear it. "I'll get it," the second oldest of the four children called through the house. She jogged to the front door, ignoring her older sister's protests coming from the stairway and second floor. Another yell was heard, this one from the two girls' mother, asking who was at the door. All the while, their guest who waited outside could hear all the yelling, and he couldn't help but laugh at the possible antics going on inside the Randle house.
Bella finally opened the door, revealing their chuckling guest. "Hey, Tommy," she greeted.
"Hey, Bella," Tommy managed to get out though his laughter, "Everythin' alright in there?"
Layla appeared in the doorway, a bit out of breath. "Yeah," she answered, "That yelling was me trying to tell Bella that I'd open the door.
Tommy gave an amused smile. "I guess she didn't listen."
"Obviously," the two Randle sisters said in unison- one in an annoyed tone, the other proud of herself.
"Yeah, you two are definitely related."
Tommy followed the two Randle girl into the house, closing the door behind them. The younger of the two sisters bid goodbye to their guest, then went up to the second floor to the older sister's bedroom. Once her sister was gone, Layla led her guest up to her room so they could study. ON the way there, the two friends greeted the two adults of the house, then went to her room. They left the door ajar once they were inside, going along with the rules that had been established multiple times.
"I really appreciate this, Layla," tommy said genuinely as he took out his books.
Layla pulled her textbooks from her school bag. "Yeah, yeah, yeah," she blew off teasingly, "Just don't expect this for every class. This is just for the fact that you don't get British Lit, and you're my friend, so I want you to pass so you can graduate."
"Not everyone can be a straight A student like you, Layla."
She internally groaned at his statement. "Yeah, I guess…"
He gave a questioning look. "You don't seem too proud 'bout that."
"I am, but everyone 'round me talks about it. It's almost like that's how some people define me."
Layla was proud of the fact that she had straight A's in school, and was in some honor and AP classes- but she was humble. She didn't go around bragging about it to everyone. It would come up every so often, and she wouldn't deny the fact that she had straight A's, but she wouldn't go on and on about it. She didn't like when people did that, and didn't like when she was pointed out or called out for it, either. She was just humble about it, and when pointed out from a crowd, she was embarrassed by it.
Tommy scoffed lightly. "Oh, come on, Layla," he tried, "People don't define you by your grades."
"Some people do," Layla countered.
"Like who?"
She thought for a moment. "Well, out teachers, the principal, and a lot of the students."
He shook his head. "Oh, they don't count. I meant of the people who hang out with you."
"Like you?"
"Like me?"
Layla thought for a moment. "Well, I don't know. How do you define me then?" she asked cautiously.
Tommy thought carefully for a moment, then chuckled. "One of the ways I define you is as my first kiss," he laughed.
That made her smile. "That summer we were all fourteen and went to camp, right?"
"You bet."
In the summer of 1982, the group of seven friends all went to summer camp together. There was a five week long camping trip that practically every kid in Oklahoma wanted to go to that summer. The location of the camp was Arcadia Lake, about an hour and a half to two hours away from Tulsa. Most of the kids who went were within a two hour radius from the beach, so practically everyone who had gone to camp that summer knew each other.
The group of seven kids were seven out of fifty-three kids from Tulsa that went. One night, around the campfire on the beach, they'd gotten into a game of truth or dare with seven other kids their age. Tommy had been challenged by one of the other seven kids they'd befriended that summer to choose truth or dare, and he chose dare. The kid thought for a moment, then smirked when he challenged the blond to kiss Layla. No one thought they'd both agree to it, but they did. It cause a never-ending line of wisecracks from their friends, especially when they got a bit older and went to the dance at school together.
"At least it was you and not that guy from Norman," Layla chuckled, "Hell, if I kissed him, our braces probably would've gotten caught together."
"I remember when you had braces," Tommy smirked, remembering that time, "I thought that they made you look real cute. Innocent, too, though."
"Well, how 'bout now?" She was half-joking, half-serious as she asked him her question.
He was silent for a moment, looking down at the ground a bit nervously. "Well, now," he stuttered, "I think you're real pretty." His tone was completely serious, a rare thing to happen.
Layla was taken back by his answer. She couldn't really tell if she was flattered by his answer, or nervous- actually, she knew it was both that she was feeling. She knew it was both by the way her heart pounded in her chest, the way her stomach did flip-flops, and the way her hands tingled. Instead of a specific answer to his statement, she decided to change the subject entirely.
"So, uh," she stuttered, "What didn't you get in British Literature?"
And with that, nothing else was said about their previous discussion the rest of the night.
Woot woot, chapter three. What do you think of Tommy and Layla already? What did you think of Steve and Evie being there? Cause they're gonna show up in another chapter or two soon, along with Soda and Cherry. So get ready whether you like it or not.
Next update is in two to four weeks- no less, no more. Hope you enjoyed the chapter and peace from all the hippies of the world. =^-^=