Exiled (AmBw)

Chapter 42

Layla POV

Unintentionally trapped under the weight of the warmest blanket in the world, I laid silently under Naoto as he slept peacefully on top of me. It was the strangest type of serenity, watching Naoto as the sun hit the tousles of his hair as it rose. Throughout the night, he moved to where he melted perfectly into me. Like a puzzle piece, he fit snug, his face hidden in my neck, and his arms wrapped around me. Running my hand through his hair, he began to wake up. Nuzzling into my neck more as he started to come to, he breathed in deeply before tickling my neck with his exhale. Pressing his lips against my neck, he kissed it before pushing up to look at me. He looked at me, dazed, not fully mentally cognizant.

Naoto: "Uh, good morning." He said, getting off of me after finally coming back down to earth.

Layla: "Morning." I said, sitting up.

Naoto: "Have you been awake for a while?" He asked, rubbing his eyes.

Layla: "No, not too long," I lied. I couldn't bring myself to tell him I was staring at him sleep.

Naoto: "Okay," He said, brushing his hair back. "Thank you, by the way." He said, looking at me.

Layla: "No problem. How are you feeling now?" I asked, wondering where he was at mentally.

Naoto sighed before answering.

Naoto: "I'm here, and that's more that I've been for the last two days." He said, after giving it some thought.

Layla: "Well, that's a step in the right direction." I said, happy to hear there was some progress.

Naoto: "Yeah." He said, resting back on the couch. "Wait, aren't qualifiers today?" He jolted up. "How was yesterday?" He asked, looking at me.

Layla: "Yesterday was unique." I said, thinking about the day. "I didn't get cut from the competition, so I guess I didn't suck too much. Today's the last day, so if by the grace of God I get through today, I'll be home free." I said, relieved at the thought.

Naoto: "Home free, huh?" He said before folding his arms. His mood wavered a bit. "I don't know why I keep forgetting you are leaving." He said, shaking his head. "Your flight is in two days, right?" He asked, his arms crossed. "You must be excited to get back home?" He said, now staring off into mid-air.

Layla: "Um, I guess. I said, trying to find enthusiasm. "I haven't thought about it much. I've been a bit occupied with trying to survive qualifiers." I said, realizing I hadn't thought about home in a while.

Naoto: "That makes sense." He said, getting up from the couch. He looked at me for a bit, like he had something he wanted to say, but he just gave me a half-smile and stretched. "Did you want a ride to qualifiers?" He said, putting his hands in his pocket.

Layla: "No, but if you could drive me to EXPG, that would be perfect. I have a few things I want to practice before going to qualifiers," I said, standing up.

Naoto: "Okay, I can take you there. I'll be ready in ten minutes," he said, walking towards his bedroom.

Layla: "Okay, thanks." I said before heading to get ready.

As I was getting ready, I got a message from Crystal, wishing me luck at qualifiers. Smiling ear to ear, I wished her a good day at work, to she replied with 3 wine drink emojis before texting me that today was her day off. After sending her a few salsa dancing emojis, I texted her 'enjoy' before heading into the bath.

Dropping in on Sato and Nana unexpectedly after getting a ride from Naoto, I practiced a few of my technics with them and a few other dancers before practicing what I really wanted to work on this morning, my flips. They were a bit weak, and I needed them, hoping they would earn me some brownie points with the judges and silence Mika and her drones. Working closely with Budz to clean up my flips, I met with an unfortunate situation. Failing to execute one of my flips, I landed incorrectly on my ankle, causing me to yell out in pain. Rushing to my side, Nana and Sato checked my injury. I sprained my ankle, blowing their chances by trying to show up their ex-dancer.

Sato: "Well, I guess it's time to hang up the towel." He said, disappointed.

Layla: "No, it's okay. I think I can still dance." I said, trying to get up before my hurt ankle forced me to sit back down.

Nana: "Layla, you can't even stand on it. Sato's right." She said, looking at it.

Layla: "There has to be something else we can do," I said, trying to make amends for my mistake.

Sato: "Unless you have a clone, I think not," he said, making a farfetched remark.

Layla: "What if I told you I have something better," I said, thinking of the perfect person to fill in for me.

Sato, Nana, and Budz looked at me like I was fresh off the crazy train but still went along with my plan. Prepared to sell my soul and my firstborn for a favor, I made a call.

Crystal: "I must be insane." She said, opening the door to let me in.

Sato: "Holy hell, she looks just like you," he said, helping Budz take me into Crystal's house.

Layla: "Yup!" I said, kind of excited. "Nana, Sato, Budz, meet Crystal, my twin sister," I said, introducing her to everyone.

Nana: "You have a twin?" Nana asked, surprised.

Layla: "Yup!" I said once they helped me onto the bed.

Sato: "You dance?" He asked Crystal.

Crystal: "A bit." She answered.

Budz: "I don't know if this is going to work. If she can't dance like Layla, does it make sense to ask her to fill-in?" she said, questioning our plan.

Crystal: "See, at least someone's making some sense, so since we got that sorted out, you all can leave, and I can go back to enjoying my day off."

Layla: "Crystal, please, these are my friends, and they need our help." I begged, giving her puppy eyes.

Crystal: "Ugh, stop it with the eyes and the begging face. You're going to make me repeat my breakfast." She said before mulling it over. "Fine, I'll do it." She gave in.

Layla: "Yay!"

Crystal: Look, I'm not a 'dancer' dancer." She said, holding up air quotations. "But I've gone through auditions before, so I should be able to handle myself. If anything, I'll finesse my way through, but I can't promise this will work." She said, speaking to Nana and Sato.

Sato: "It's alright, most of the heavy lifting was yesterday, so I think you should be okay. Do you have any experience in learning choreography?" Sato asked.

Crystal: "I do." She answered.

Nana: "They're going to be teaching pretty fast and using a lot of dance terms. Are you going to be ok with that? Nana asked.

Crystal: "In my old job, I had to learn choreography fast and perform it the same night perfectly, or it would come out of my paycheck." She paused. "I worked there for years, and never had anything deducted out of my check."

Layla: "Well, if that doesn't inspire confidence, I don't know what will. So we got a deal, everyone?" I asked.

Crystal: "You owe me big time." She pointed at me.

Layla: "Crystal, if you ever need help hiding a body. Just say the word." I said, smiling.

She smiled and shook her head.

Budz: "Quallifers is in the next 30 minutes, so we better get on the move. She said, looking at her watch.

Crystal: "Just give me a bit. Let me get ready," she said, before disappearing into another room.

Coming back out looking like the spitting image of me, long hair and all, everyone's jaw dropped, and the room was speechless.

Layla: "Girl, is that Brazilian yaki?" I said, impressed by her hair.

Crystal: "Peruvian." She said, smirking playing with it.

Layla: "Yes, of course." I said, staring at myself with more booty.

Losing the others in translation, they just stared, waiting for Crystal and I to talk about something they understood. Getting back on task Sato continued to prep Crystal. Putting a pillow under my foot, Crystal got me set up with everything I would need to stay alone in her house, then they left. Praying for a miracle, I laid back in her bed and wished her the best.

"How bad could it go?" I thought.