Peace and Grace

16. Friends and Enemies

Will has been hanging out with what Zach calls 'the cool kids' more and more lately - Gwen and her crew. We all feel pretty abandoned.

Layla especially seems crushed - and I don't blame her. Will is her best friend. It would be like if Zach suddenly left me in favour of going to hang out with the 'popular group'. And I would be pissed at him if he did that.

"Is it just me, or has Will been acting strange lately?" Layla asks as she, Zach, and I make our way to the bus stop one following morning.

"You mean ever since he discovered his powers?" Zach's right. I think the whole 'Hero' thing is starting to get to Will's head. 

"Not really... Not too different." I try to stay hopeful, though.

"Well Naddie you haven't noticed cause you've been too focused on Warren Peace."

"Hey!" I deliver a punch to his arm. "Shut up, that's not true!" Although, this comment of his does make my cheeks grow hot. Funny how your emotions can betray you. 

"He did just sweep you off your feet - literally."

"Zach, I swear-"

"I was right there, I saw it all."

Thankfully, the bus arrives then, but I can feel my whole face burning up at his words.

 Gee Emotions, thanks a lot.

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Layla texts me that evening, explaining that she and Will had arranged to go for Chinese food for dinner, he wanting to make it up to her for being so distant lately. But, apparently, he never showed, or hasn't showed yet, and its been half an hour. And he's not answering his phone.

I don't have the heart to tell her that I've already eaten, and instead head right over to the Paper Lantern and join her.

Not right away though - when I arrive and scan the restaurant looking for her, I find her sitting at a booth, only she isn't alone.

Warren is sitting with her, and they're chatting.

I wait until he leaves before heading over, not wanting to cut-in on their conversation. I'm glad Warren is keeping poor Layla company.

"Can I help you?" the hostess asks me.

I guess I am just standing in the doorway. "Oh, thanks, I'm meeting my friend, she's at that table over there."

The hostess nods and I head over to Layla, passing Warren on his way to the kitchen. "Grace."

"Peace," I say back, though it's weird calling him by his last name.

"Good thing you're here. Your friend over there is pretty upset."

"Yeah, Will stood her up, so she asked me to come join her, so here I am."

"You're a good friend, Grace." His words, deeply sincere and genuine, surprise me. 

"Thanks..."

"You're doing better I see."

"Huh?" Then I realize he's talking about my injury of sorts in gym class the other day. "Oh, yeah, I just needed to rest, I was exhausted. Thanks again for your help." For carrying me to the nurse's office. 

He nods. "Well, take it easy." And with that, he disappears into the kitchen. 

I stand there, frozen in place by his words, before I snap out of my sudden kind-of-trance and join Layla. 

"Oh, thank you so much! You're the best!" She jumps up to hug me.

"Of course. You okay?"

"Yeah..." Just hurt, is really what she means.

I am going to give Will Stronghold a serious talking to when I see him next.

A waitress comes by to fill my water glass, and I thank her. "Still waiting on someone?" she asks.

"Oh, no, our friend can't come anymore," Layla quickly lies. The waitress sees through it though, I can tell by the sympathetic look she gives Layla as she leaves. 

Layla sighs. "I think they were starting to think I was stood up. Which I was, but..."

"Hey-" I reach out and place my hand over hers on the table. "It's okay, no need to explain to anyone.  I'm sorry."

She gives me a small smile. "Thanks, Naddie."

I smile back and give her hand a squeeze.  "Hey, I saw you chatting with Warren when I arrived."

"Oh yeah, I had no idea he worked here."

"What were you talking about?"

"Just school, and Will, and friendship. He was actually really nice."

"Yeah, he was..." He can be nice, can't he. When he wants to be. 

"Can we order now, I'm actually super hungry," she says, taking up a menu.

"Yeah, shame on Will for making you go hungry! What were you thinking?" I open a menu as well.

"Extra veggie fried rice?"

"Yes Ma'am! You deserve it and I'm all for it!"

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Layla handled it well the next day at school:  she presented Will with a fortune cookie - which he proceeded to eat. Honestly, he can be so stupid.

Then it hit him - he apologized, of course, and said he had been working on his new hero homework. Gwen was helping him catch up in the wake of him discovering his powers and being moved from Sidekick Studies to Hero Studies.

Saying that he had been with Gwen only worsened the sting for poor Layla. 

Will's sitting at the 'popular' table again. But he keeps casting glances over at us, until Gwen catches him that is, and then she steals his attention again. Is that guilt I see in his eyes?

Layla, instead of letting her eyes linger for long on them, walks right by our usual table and plops down at Warren's table. Unlike at the restaurant, he's now returned to his cold exterior. 

"Hey we're eating at Warren's table now?!" cries Ethan, sitting on Warren's right. "Wow! I feel extremely dangerous!"

"Whoa, whoa," Warren say, as though this were a huge threat.

"Hey ladies, this guy bothering you?" asks Zach, sitting on Warren's other side.

"How about you try the other way around," says Warren, clearly not happy with this new arrangement. 

But Layla ignores him and just launches right into a conversation with him, clearly trying to rekindle the good conversation they'd had last night at the restaurant. 

If she's trying to make Will jealous, I think it works, and I catch him looking our way more than once, Gwen not even able to pull his attention away.

The way she's speaking with Warren, and acting around him, settles strangely within me, and I start to feel - uncomfortable? Sure, my friend is trying to make my other friend jealous, so naturally that is an uncomfortable situation to be a part of. But 'uncomfortable' isn't quite the right word...

Then, I realize, I'm starting to feel the way she's trying to make Will feel-

I'm jealous. 

(Oooooooo! ;) Haha! Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoyed this chapter! :))