Set My Heart Ablaze | Warren X Layla [Sky High]

The Contract's Rules of 3

A/N: in this chapter, Layla gets a bright idea to do something that could go really well or horribly wrong

Where you sit in the cafeteria could determine social status, and Will Stronghold was sitting with a group of girls surrounding him (as per usual) all giggling and asking him to regale them with stories of fighting supervillains with his parents.

Layla always felt jealous, especially when the girl closest to him - his girlfriend - would latch onto his arm and offer to feed him lunch. It was cringy and hard to watch, but she wouldn't have minded taking that spot next to him.

She made her way around to the back where her friend group typically sat and noticed Warren sitting by himself at his table, isolated from the rest of the cafeteria. As Layla walked past, they made eye contact, and she quickly looked away.

"Hey, you're moodier today." Magenta pointed out as Layla sat down. "It's because Will's girlfriend spot is open, isn't it?"

"I-can we not talk about it?" Layla picked up her vegan wrap. 

"It's hard to ignore," Zach said, chewing on his hamburger. "The dude's got mad game, he's gotten at least 3 girlfriends since last year and over the summer."

"Ugh, I know!" Layla mumbled.

"Oh, cheer up Layla!" Ethan took a sip of his drink. "Those girls aren't that much better than you. Don't get too worked up over it. I don't even remember their names, honestly."

Layla remembered. She always did. They were so hard to forget.

After Gwen, there was Emily, the girl whose singing could lure people to sleep.

Ruth, the sidekick girl that could turn invisible.

Then lastly Bianca, a posh rich girl that could shoot lightning bolts.

And now it was Jane, the sidekick healer.

"Hey, Layla, didn't you go to homecoming last year with Warren Peace?" Magenta asked, ripping open a bag of chips. "He was your date, wasn't he?"

"Well, yeah, but I was just trying to make Will jealous," Layla muttered. "Didn't really work, now did it?"

"Have you really not made any progress?" Ethan commented. "You hang out with him a lot, don't you?"

"At least twice a week. Our families sometimes hold picnics or game nights once a month. I hardly see him when he has a girlfriend, and when he's not dating, he's just asking me what other girls in the class think of him so that he knows who he can go after!" She complained.

"Wow. That's harsh," Zach said with a mouth full of fries.

Magenta looked thoughtful. "You know, I think you could've gone somewhere with the 'dating Warren' thing. He and Will are archenemies. If you continued to look like you were dating him, Will would go berserk!"

Layla furrowed her brows. "You really think so? I don't want to cause  Warren too much trouble..." She turned around and stole a glimpse at the pyrokinetic. 

They made eye contact.

She looked at Magenta with doubt. "Are you sure about this?"

The shapeshifter shrugged. "You got any other plans?"

Magenta had a point. Layla hasn't gotten anywhere with Will. And desperate times call for desperate measures.

"Here goes nothing." She said, standing up.

As she moved towards Warren's table, he looked up and watched in bewilderment as she sat across from him.

"Hey, Warren!" Layla smiled awkwardly.