A Spark of Hope

Chapter 3- Hope Is All You Need

That night Layla snuck out, like she found herself doing nearly every night. Her destination was a small park, the meeting spot for her and her best friend. She could only hope she was there, she had to be there. She just had to be.

Stepping into the small park, she was immediately tackled into a hug almost falling to the ground on impact.

"Layla!" the brunette exclaimed, smiling brightly. Layla tightened her grip on her, leaning into the hug for as long as possible. The girl gently pulled out of the hug, looking at Layla in concern. "What happened this time? Why'd you sneak out?"

Layla immediately dropped her gaze, biting her lip at the thought. "The usual," she admitted. She let out a discouraged sigh, looking up at her best friend. "I'm not an artist, am I?" Her voice was barely above a whisper.

The girl's eyes widened at her words. "Do we have to go through this again? Shall I remind you of all the incredible paintings you've made? Or how you have a God-given gift that allows you to look at a blank piece of paper and see art in it?" she paused, thinking for a moment. "If that isn't talent, I don't know what is."

Layla looked at her best friend, relieved by her words. Hope was the only person who kept her sane. It was amazing how much she lived up to her name. She was always painting Layla as some kind of a master, when she truly was far from it. Layla still didn't understand what she had done to be worthy of her, it was a mystery she had yet to solve.

Layla looked towards the ground, embarrassed by her friend's words. "You make me sound so much better than I am."

Hope chuckled, elbowing her playfully. "I speak only the truth."

Layla couldn't help but grow frustrated at her words. She stood up, frustration creeping into her veins. "Then why are you the only one who thinks that? Everyone else thinks I'm worthless when it comes to talent." She sighed, her head falling into her hands. "And who's to say they're wrong?" she whispered.

Hope jumped up, enraged by the thought of people putting her best friend down. "I'm to say they're wrong!" she exclaimed, smirking, "And I'm always right."

Layla rolled her eyes, shaking her head. "That remains to be seen."

"Hey-" Hope began, immediately holding her head in what seemed to be pain. She squeezed her eyes shut, attempting to block out the overwhelming amount of pain that roared through her head.

"Sit down." Layla urged, gently helping Hope to the ground, afraid she might faint or something.

They sat there for a moment before the pain seemed to pass. 

Hope attempted to shrug it off as nothing more than a headache. "I'm fine, it's just a headache, it's nothing." She smiled at Layla, "We're here to worry about you, not me." She left out the fact that these headaches had slowly been getting worse since they had began, nearly three months ago. She deemed it unimportant, wanting to focus on Layla, who clearly had worse problems than she thought she did.

Layla nervously played with her fingers, "You didn't have to come, you know... I don't want you to catch a cold."

Hope rolled her eyes. "I'm fine!" She laid back, looking up at the night sky. "Now shut up and tell me about the stars!"

Layla chuckled, always amused by Hope's forced interest. She knew the only reason Hope asked about the stars was because they were Layla's favorite thing. 

She laid back, glancing at Hope. "What do you want to learn about? Last time I told you about Aries."

Hope thought for a moment. "How about Androme-" 

Layla giggled at the mispronunciation. "You mean Andromeda?" She looked for a moment, attempting to pinpoint the constellation. It was easy to spot since the area around them was so dark. "It's right there!" she pointed.

Hope glanced towards her best friend, "She was the beautiful princess, right?"

Layla nodded, going much more into depth, like she always did when telling the stories of the constellations. "She was known for her beauty and kindness. In fact, her mother boasted about her so much that the children of Poseidon, the Nereids, got very jealous. They went to their father in an effort to punish not just the mother, but the entire family. Poseidon ordered a big sea monster to terrorize them-" She grew more and more enthusiastic, speaking a lot with her hands before being interrupted.

"It was Cetus, right?"

"How did you know that?" Layla raised an eyebrow.

"Percy Jackson." Hope shrugged with a smirk.

Layla groaned, "Why am I telling you the story if you already know it?"

"Because I love the way you tell them!" Hope exclaimed, not wanting her to stop. There was something special about the way Layla told stories, something Hope had yet to understand. "Please, continue." she urged.

Layla rolled her eyes, pretending to seem annoyed by the task. "Fine. In an effort to stop Cetus, they decided to sacrifice poor Andromeda. They saw her as the cause of their problem in the first place. Cetus got closer and closer, hungry for a meal. She was about to be eaten when-"

"Perseus swoops in and saves her!" Hope exclaimed, jumping to her feet in excitement. "And they ride off together, living happily after ever."

Layla laughed, "You're too easy to please." She shook her head fondly.

Hope sat beside Layla, leaning into her. "More like you're just good at telling stories!" She paused before looking towards the night sky once more. "Tell me another one!" she exclaimed, practically laying on top of Layla.

"Which one?" Layla huffed, considering pushing her off. But she didn't enjoying the sisterly love Hope supplied.

"Your favorite! Orion!"

Layla glanced at her, "But he's not out right now!"

Hope looked up at her, putting on her best puppy eyes, having clearly learned it from Oliver. Layla rolled her eyes, knowing she was already defeated. She could never say no to those eyes.

"Alright. Orion the hunter, also known as the most glorious constellation in the sky, is one of the easiest to find in Winter. He faces Taurus, the bull. He has two hounds, Canis Major and Canis Minor who are as loyal as can be. They actually form the Winter Triangle in the night sky. His tale comes when he was hunting with Artemis. He bragged that he could hunt any animal on Earth, which upset Gaia, the earth goddess. She sent a huge scorpion, Scorpius, to kill him. Of course, Orion lived and they were both placed among the stars, as a warning for other heroes."

Hope chuckled, "I still think Hercules is better." Before Layla could argue, she continued, "We should call Jas! I'm sure she-"

Layla quickly shot down the idea, cutting her off. "No."

"But-"

"Don't you remember what happened last time? All she did was complain about the mosquitos." she reminded her.

"But it's not summer anymore." Hope pointed out.

"Still." Layla shook her head. "I've heard enough complaining for one day."

Suddenly her phone rang, causing her to quickly pull it out of her pocket. It was Cameron, like it always was, making sure she knew to get home before their dad noticed. 

Hope sighed, standing up since she knew their time together was coming to an end.

"I have to go!" Layla jumped up, barely having enough time to wave goodbye to her friend.

Hopefully they would meet again soon.

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Hope you liked it!

Hope you have an amazing day!

-Snowy