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— 𝐋𝐀𝐘𝐋𝐀 𝐒𝐌𝐈𝐋𝐄𝐃 𝐓𝐎 herself as she realized that everything was finally over.
Sky High was saved, all of the adults were, well — adults again, and Royal Pain was defeated by a Stronghold for a second time.
After Will's parents finished praising her and her friends for helping their son save the school, Will pulled Layla to the side to speak with her privately.
He smiled shyly and seemed to hype himself up a bit before he spoke. "Listen, Layla — I know I got interrupted when I was apologizing earlier, but I wanna do this right."
Layla nodded encouragingly but remained silent.
"I am so sorry. I've been a huge jerk recently, and I should've never let becoming a hero cloud my judgment. In light of everything that's happened with Gwe- Royal Pain," He corrected himself. "I've realized that I have feelings for you. Do you...feel the same?" He ended off hopefully.
The redhead's lips parted in shock at Will's confession. This was the last thing she was expecting to happen tonight.
After her moment of shock passed, Layla found herself scanning the gym for Warren. When her eyes finally landed on him, his own locked with hers immediately. They were intense, and Layla felt herself shiver slightly, even as her stomach pooled with warmth at the feeling of Warren's eyes on her.
Finally, she turned to look at Will again and smiled politely. "The old Layla would be over the moon to hear your confession. But..." She trailed off for a moment, before shaking her head. "Truth be told, I lost feelings for you a while ago."
To his credit, Will took her rejection in stride. "Huh." He said to himself, as he nodded slowly. "Can I ask when your feelings- or, when you stopped-" He sighed heavily, before straightening his shoulders.
"When did you lose feelings for me?" He asked, his voice more firm this time.
Layla paused to really think about it. "I guess I lost feelings for you after you stood me up. The truth is, it took me up until then to realize that I was never in love with you, Will. I was in love with the idea of you. And then I was kinda just in denial about it for a while which is why I told you Warren was my date. It was only after the party that I accepted that you're just not the guy for me." She fought not to look at Warren when she said that last part and laughed.
"I realize now that we would make an awful couple! It would never work, and that's okay. We're better off as friends, and now that you've stopped being a jerk, that's actually pretty doable." She punched his arm lightly.
Will laughed as he nodded in agreement. "I never thought of it that way, but I guess you're right."
Once he stopped laughing, his eyes grew a little sad though. "But, just — I'm gonna need some time to get to where you're at, you know? I- My feelings are still...there."
Layla's eyes softened. "And that's okay, Will. In time, you'll see what I'm talking about for yourself. Just don't take as long as I did." She joked.
Will laughed again, before pulling Layla into a hug. "Thanks, Layla."
The redhead smiled as she returned the hug. "Anytime."
— 𝐒𝐇𝐄 𝐅𝐎𝐔𝐍𝐃 𝐇𝐄𝐑𝐒𝐄𝐋𝐅 standing next to Warren in a secluded corner of the gym, both of them content to watch their friends engage in a very amusing dance competition. The kind where it was going to be awfully hard to choose a winner. Not because they were all really good dancers — but because they all absolutely sucked. Regardless, it was nice to finally just relax after the chaotic events of the night.
"So..." Warren broke the peaceful silence between them. "You and Stronghold." He finished, stating it rather than asking.
Layla smiled and shook her head. "Nope."
The Peace boy whipped his head to the side. "What?"
Layla laughed. "I told him I don't have feelings for him. Said we would be better off as just friends."
Warren stayed silent for a while, studying her face intently. Eventually, he spoke. "Did you mean it?"
The redhead nodded. "I did. I do. I lost feelings for him a long time ago if I'm being honest."
"How long?" Warren questioned, his eyes continuing to scan all over her face as if he would be able to find the truth in her skin.
Layla tilted her head and decided to just let him hear it instead.
"I'd say it started that night at the Paper Lantern. But when I realized I was over him..." She locked eyes with the pyrokinetic and shrugged. "It kinda just came to me in a multitude of moments. That night we started talking, and then after the party...Yeah."
Warren nodded, before raising a brow. "So instead of calling our fake dating scheme off, you just...let me be your date to homecoming?"
His face was unreadable as he asked this, making Layla nervous.
"Yeah." She admitted quietly, hoping he wasn't going to blow up on her.
And he didn't.
Instead, he smirked as he held a hand out towards her. "If you wanted to dance with me, all you had to do was ask, Hippie."
Layla smiled up at him, as she accepted his hand.
No more words were spoken between the two as they joined the crowd of dancing teenagers. Rather than joining in on their friend group's crazy shenanigans though, they opted to just dance with one another instead.
Her first homecoming might not have been as smooth as she was expecting, but it was still one of the best nights of her life.
And if she got to end it dancing with the guy she may or may not be gaining feelings for — well, that was just one more reason for her to live it up to the fullest.
