How the Star Fell for the Moon | Layla

Three

"Starting with why you left," Brandon states.

"You know why I left you guys," Ayla argues, her voice weak from being ashamed of the reason.

"All I know is that you got a boyfriend, and before we knew it you never talked to any of us ever again," Brandon retorts. "I told you everything. I would really appreciate it if you at least tried to do the same."

Ayla lets out a deep breath. "Okay. I lied to you earlier when I said that nothing happened between Lily and me on the roof," Ayla admits.

"You're kidding," Brandon mocks.

"Do you what me to tell you this or not?" Ayla threatens, sensing the boy's sarcasm.

"I'm sorry, continue."

"One night, before I went into the coma, Lily slept over at my house. We were bored, so she suggested that we go up to the roof and look at the stars. We ended up dancing together and one thing lead to another and I kissed her," Ayla explains.

"How does that relate to Ben?" Brandon asks, with a confused expression.

"Lily was the first person that ever really cared about me, and I loved her for that. That night I got caught up in the moment, and I kissed her. I told her that I kissed her because I loved her, which was true, she was the first person I ever loved. I needed her to know how I felt, so I kissed her, but I made a fool of myself in the process. We never really talked about the kiss after it happened, and at first that didn't bother me. I would tell myself that it was just a stupid kiss, and it didn't really mean anything. I did that for as long as I could, before I had to finally admit that I loved her more than I was letting myself believe. By that time, the kiss had happened over a year ago. I couldn't just bring it back up. I didn't think that she liked me like that, so I forced myself to stop having those feelings for her. In order to do that I had to distance myself from her. Eventually Ben came along and asked me out, and I thought that maybe going out with him would help me get rid of those feelings. I was right, but going out with him cost me Lily, Danny and you. He said that I shouldn't hang out you guys anymore, that I should only hang out with him and his friends. The thought of someone loving me back the same why I could love them made it all seem worth it. Looking back now I realize that was one of the biggest mistakes I haveever made. And that's basically all I've got," Ayla says, pursing her lips, as she realizes that she had been rambling on for quite a long time.

"No offense, but if you know that he made you push us away, why are you still dating him?" Brandon asks rather bluntly.

Ayla looks up at Brandon with tears in her eyes, and simply shakes her head.

"I'm sorry, Ayla. I didn't know," Brandon quickly apologizes, as he puts a hand on the girls back to try and comfort her.

"Don't be," Ayla replies, as a tear falls into her cheek.

Brandon pulls Ayla in closer to him, and she rests her head on his shoulder. The two sit quietly for several minutes like that, before Ayla finally interrupts the silence. "I'm sorry. For leaving you guys. For taking Ayla away from you. For everything."

Brandon takes the girls chin and raises it up gently, so that she is looking at him. With a smile he says, "don't be."

Ayla pulls the boy into a tight hug. "Then thank you for everything," she whispers.

"No problem."

The two pull apart and Ayla awkward bites her lip. "You don't have to stay, if you don't want to. I'm sure you have better things to do than watch me cry on a Friday night."

"I can stay if you need me to," Brandon replies. "Plus I already canceled my plans for tonight because of you."

"You didn't really do that did you?"

"I did. Seriously Ayla, I can stay if you need someone."

"I'll be fine," Ayla assures him. "I think I could use some time alone to think about everything."

"I understand," Brandon replies, as he slowly stands up from the couch. Ayla walks with him over to the front door. Brandon grabs ahold of the handle, but doesn't open the door. "How did you know what I said to you when you were in the hospital?" Brandon blurts out, as he turns back around towards Ayla.

Ayla half-smirks, as she replies, "I've been wondering when you would ask me that. When I got back from the hospital I started having this dream about you visiting my grave. Every time I had it you would say more and more. Over time I stopped having it, but in the past couple of weeks I started dreaming about it again. It would wake me up in the middle of the night, so I began writing down what I remember you saying. Last night I had the dream again, and I finally got everything you said written down."

Brandon nods his head, before inquiring, "can you promise me something?"

"Anything," Ayla answers.

"If you decide to come back into her life, promise me that you won't leave her again without a valid reason."

"I don't think I could ever make that mistake twice," she confirms.

"Good," Brandon smiles. "Well I'll see you around."

Brandon opens the door and steps out into the hallway, while Ayla stands in her doorway, and watches the boy walk away. "Brandon!" She shouts, causing him to turn back around. "I can't thank you enough for coming here to talk to me today, and everything else you've ever done for me."

"Don't mention it. It's what friends are for," he responds, turning around the corner and disappearing out of Ayla's sight.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A/N: Next: "How to Order a 'Latte?': A Lesson by Lily." Layla reunites. It's not a date.
"We push away what we can never understand. We push away the unimaginable."