Layla. Chapter Seven: "More Than A Feeling".

1986.

"I can't believe that you're going to homecoming with Thomas O'Brien," Carter gushed excitedly.

Layla rolled her eyes a bit. "Can we not go on 'bout this?" she requested, "It's not that big a' deal."

Maggie scoffed. "Seriously, Layla?" she let out, "DO you know how long the rest of us have been waitin' for this to happen?"

Carter nodded in agreement. "Just for reference- we've been waiting a real long time now."

Layla had decided that she would tell her two closest female friends about her homecoming "date". Since they were all friends, she figured it would probably be helpful to get their opinions on the scenario. She knew that they would be totally genuine and honest in their responses to the whole thing, taking into consideration they had all known each other too well and for too long now. She knew they'd respond differently than her mother and her mother's best friend, and that they might even have a less of a biased answer and response to her news.

"This is so cliché," Carter laughed, leaning into the beanbag chair she sat in, "I love it."

Maggie smirked as she looked at her artistic friend. "It's like we're fourteen and back at Arcadia Lake," she said smugly, "That was great."

Carter laughed again. "Or prom a few years ago."

"You two are being anything but helpful!" Layla burst out, making the two jump.

This really all was too much for Layla. She was nervous and scared at the inevitable possibility of having a romantic relationship with such a close friend. She'd never been in such a nerve-wracking situation, and she needed real advice on the situation from two of her closest friends. She was a bit angry at how they were taking it and how they weren't being as serious as she needed them to be at the present moment. She was hoping that they would be able to give her some helpful input, but she was beginning to think that she thought wrong.

"I really need your help and you two aren't takin' this seriously at all," Layla complained as she flopped down on her back onto her bed.

Maggie and Carter exchanged sad looks. "You're right," Maggie agreed, "We shouldn't have been foolin' like that."

"Yeah, we're sorry," Carter said sadly.

Layla nodded. "Thanks. And I'm sorry for snappin' like that. I'm just really anxious."

"You know," Maggie began, "I bet Tommy feels a little weird 'bout this too. Just taking into consideration the fact that we're all still friends. Just like you're doin'."

Layla shrugged. "Maybe, I don't know. Why is this all so complicated, anyhow?"

"Cause love is already a pretty scary thing, but when other people like friends are involved, that's a whole other scenario. There's too many dependents for the outcome of the relationship to know what'll happen." Carter stared into space as she spoke, giving an eerie feeling.

Layla and Maggie exchanged side glances with each other, then looked back at their friend. Both of them had facial expressions that yelled, "What the hell was that about?" The two continued to stare blankly at their friend silently, unsure how to respond to all she said and exactly how she said it.

Carter cleared her throat a bit nervously, coming back to reality. "Well, uh," she stuttered, "That's what I'm guessin', anyhow."

Layla's eyes widened. "No!" she gushed, a smile forming her face.

"What?"

"You like someone!" Maggie guessed excitedly.

Carter scoffed lightly. "What? No, I don't like anyone! Not like that. That's insane!"

Layla and Maggie gave unconvinced looks with one another. "Oh, come on, Carter," Layla complained, "I can't remember a time that you had a thing for someone."

"And that's how it's gonna stay," carter shrugged, "At least for now."

Maggie gave a hopeful look. "So you are gonna tell us at some point?"

Carter took a short and quick glances between her two friends, then rolled her eyes and threw her hands up in annoyance as she sighed. "Yes! Fine, damnit! Geez, why're y'all so annoying?"

"Cause we're your friends and we love you."

-/-/-

On the other side of residential Tulsa, Tommy sat at the desk in his bedroom. His record player sat on the chest of drawers against the wall, Billy Idol's voice from the album Rebel Yell belting out from it. He was hunched over his desk, pen in hand as he tried to figure out the notes he took during his Chemistry class on the lesson earlier that day. His eyebrows knit together in confusion as he tried to figure it out. After an hour of pencils, pens, calculators, equations and Billy Idol's voice, he managed to somehow get all of the Chemistry equations and questions correct. He wasn't completely sure if they were all correct, but at least they were done.

As if on cue, as soon as Tommy put his schoolbooks back into his backpack, his bedroom door swung open. When he looked up, he saw the younger of his two kid sisters- Charlotte, or "Charlie"- standing in the doorway. He was very caring and protective of both Charlotte and their middle sibling- Katharine, or "Kat"- and he loved to spend time with both of them. So when he saw her small figure standing in the doorway, he couldn't help but smile at the younger girl.

"Hey, cutie," Tommy greeted the little girl in a cheerful tone, "Come on in."

While Tommy was eighteen years old, both of his sisters were significantly younger than him. His parents were in their mid-twenties when he was born, giving them a good long while to have more kids. It wasn't until he was ten years old that his sister Katharine was born, and thirteen years old when Charlotte was born. Both girls adored their older brother as much as he adored them, and their parents couldn't have been happier about that.

Charlotte smiled and ran to her big brother, her blonde hair- same as his- flying from behind her head. "Hi!" she greeted cheerfully as she climbed onto his lap.

"What're you up to, huh?" Tommy asked, helping her as she climbed and pulled her onto his lap.

"I finished my homework and Mama told me to see if you were done, too. Are you done?"

"I just finished all of my homework, actually. Do you know if Kat finished?"

Charlotte nodded quickly. "Yeah, she'd done, too!"

"Good! How 'bout we all watch a movie then?" Tommy asked, in attempt to make her smile even brighter than she already was.

Charlotte's face lit up at the thought of spending time with her older siblings. She quickly nodded and ran off to find her older sister. Tommy laughed as he got up from his seat and went after the two younger girls, finding them both in the living room already. He informed his mother of their finished homework and intended plans to watch a movie with the two girls before their bed time. Their mother approved and he went to put the VHS of 101 Dalmatians into the machine, clicking the play button before joining the two girls on their couch.

As the 1960s Disney cartoon film played, the two girls sat quietly, enjoying the film. On the other hand, Tommy couldn't quite keep his attention on the cartoon- but on something else. Or, more like he kept his mind on someone else.

"Tommy," Charlotte groaned, "You're not watchin'!"

Tommy gave an apologetic smile. "Sorry, Charlie," he apologized, "I was just thinkin' about something."

"Is it a girl?" Katharine asked eagerly, suddenly forgetting about the movie, "Cause I bet it's a girl."

He couldn't help but chuckle. "Actually, Kat, it is a girl?"

Katharine gave a victorious smile. "I knew it! Do we know her?"

"Yes you do. You like her, too."

Charlotte thought for a moment. "Is it Layla?"

Tommy nodded. "Yeah, it's Layla."

"Do you have a crush on her?" Katharine asked.

He was silent for a moment, thinking. "Yeah," he answered surely, "Yeah, I have a crush on Layla."

"Do you wanna hug her and kiss her like Mommy and Daddy do on dates?" Charlotte giggled, making her older sister go into a fit of giggles as well.

Tommy chuckled a bit at her words. "Yeah, I do wanna hug her and kiss her. But, maybe a bit differently than Mommy and Daddy do."

Hello. Greetings. Did you like this chapter?

I just wanna say, I don't know when the next update will be. I'll try to have at least one update every month for this story and my other story. It's harder cause I'm working on two stories I'd like to try and get published into real books, like at Barnes and Noble or any book store. Also I'm graduating high school two Saturdays after this new chapter has been published. Also, I'm looking for a job. Not to mention I'm starting college this August, so that'll be fun. And I just got my drivers permit, so there's that. like I said, I'll probably have one update every month, less to do. Sorry.

Anyway, hope you enjoyed the chapter. And please hang tight. Peace from all the hippies of the world. =^-^=