Sarah POV

Layla, as predicted, arrived soon after they sat down for the meteor shower. The fact that Sarah

had texted the girl to come, knowing that Will, while being her best friend, would need Layla's

comfort. He may call Layla his best friend, but Sarah, while not able to see further than five

minutes ahead, was not blind. Will may not have admitted it, even to himself, but he did love

Layla. They were closer than friends…which made Sarah his best friend and Layla his future

love.

"Hey, Layla," she greeted the girl. Layla was in a lime green shirt with an earthy brown jacket

and blue jeans. Her hair was in its customary double low ponytails. Sarah could see the worry in

Layla's eyes and shook her head slightly. Will hadn't told them yet. He was just scared of the

bad reaction, not recovering from it.

"Did you tell him?" Layla asked, despite being given the answer already.

"What was I supposed to do?" Will's voice was rising. He wasn't angry, but defensive. "He

showed me the secret sanctum."

"You have to tell them," Layla said, reprimanding but encouraging.

"We understand Will. You're under a lot of pressure. Just know, we're here for you. No matter

how you decide to handle this," Sarah added.

"Everyone expects greatness from me," he explained quietly.

"Well you are great," Layla reassured.

"Thanks," Will said, thankful, but not agreeing.

"So you're a sidekick. It's not the end of the world. When life gives you lemons…" Layla tried to

grow a lemon.

"Make apple juice?" Will quipped.

Sarah laughed fondly. "You know you're too optimistic to grow a lemon."

"But I thought I could if I tried to make a positive point with it!"

"It's not the greatest tragedy to not be able to make a lemon. Sure, blinding people with the juice

would be useful in a fight, but you could always use limes. They're pretty acidic too."

Layla huffed, well aware that Sarah knew that she would never do so unless threatened with her

life. Even then, she'd likely tie the culprit up or knock them out painlessly.

Will butted in. "You both have awesome powers. You could have made hero easy."

"I'm not into labels," Layla said.

"And I don't need anyone avoiding me because I know more than I should. Your parents may

trust me, but they still avoid me five minutes before doing anything important. It hurts to be

avoided. Besides, why would I leave the people who accept me for who I am? In hero, they'd

only accept me for my power."

Will pondered that. "I guess I don't have to worry about those trying to cosy up to me to get to

my dad either?"

"Nope. In sidekick, they'll ignore you because they don't have the guts to take the social hit. I

just hope some of them have the strength."

Layla squealed. "Who caught your eye? You've never had a crush or any semblance of friendly

feelings for anyone but us! Who is it?!"

Sarah laughed. "Lunch was a clue."

"Really? Warren?"

Sarah snorted. "No, but he seems friendly enough. At least to me. Probably because I have no

fear or hatred for him. I'm pretty sure I both confuse and impress him."

"So it's his friend." Layla started mumbling. "What was his name?" Her face brightened. "Oh, it's

Wren!"

"You know he's a werewolf right? Unless he's a terrible person, he's lost hope for a mate, or

you're his mate, he's never going to show interest."

"I happen to know who his mate is. He talked about it after lunch with Warren."

"...And since you were with them the whole lunch, you saw that conversation! You don't seem

heartbroken…you're his mate?!"

"You know you're really smart?" Sarah smiled at her best friend's excitement and intelligence.

Sarah knew that Layla wouldn't be given the same opportunity to shine in sidekick as in hero,

but she knew her best friend would be one of the best heroes, once she was facing people who

actually deserved to be fought.

"You could practice your powers with me." Sarah spoke up.

Layla opened her mouth to protest. "Layla, it's practice. I know you want to save the world,

mankind, womenkind, the forests, and animals. There will be people you'll come across that

want to hurt them. While you are immensely powerful and have great control over your powers,

you have yet to test them in combat. And this would be spars. You wouldn't be attacking me or

being violent, simply trying to practice. Besides, I need to get used to different styles of fighting

than Mrs. Stronghold. She goes for speed and strength, not really using powers that don't just

enhance her body. You, on the other hand, would have a completely different style of fighting.

And I could see your moves 5 minutes in advance, so you'd have to try incredibly hard to hurt

me. So think of this as helping a friend in a way that will increase your chances of helping

whoever you need to save in the future. Besides, I know you have enough control not to hurt

me, even if you do manage to surprise me."

Sarah waited patiently for her friend's response. She may know her answer, but Layla didn't yet.