Chapter Text
It was a Thursday when the guys saw Warren arrive without Layla, which struck them as odd—those two were always together, and when I say *always*, I mean *always*. No one said a word as they watched Warren walk past them and head straight to his locker. Ten seconds later, Layla appeared, and just as Will was about to greet her, she also walked right past them and went to her locker.
They looked at each other, trying to communicate without speaking. They didn’t want either of them to hear.
"Something weird is going on, and I don't want to jump to wild conclusions," said the only girl in the group, at the moment.
"I agree with you, Mag. It's normal for Warren to ignore us, but Layla? And not just that, they arrived separately, and Warren usually walks from his house to Layla’s just to accompany her on the bus," Ethan pointed out, referring to another strange detail. No one could shake the feeling that something was going on.
Zach nodded, glancing at his friends, and the three of them turned to Will. He always knew what to do in these situations. But Will wasn’t looking at them, he was watching Warren and Layla, and how they completely ignored each other when they crossed paths face to face.
"I'm sorry to say this... but they broke up," was all Will could get out. Believe it or not, the whole friend group adored that couple. Everyone knew how much Layla and Warren had been through separately.
They all stared at Will, speechless. None of them knew what to say. They had expected anything but this, especially not from that couple.
"Who broke up?" asked Gwen, who had just arrived and hadn’t seen or heard anything yet.
"Warren and Layla," Magenta replied, still staring down the hallway where the two had disappeared.
"That's awful," Gwen said, going silent for a moment. No one replied, waiting for her to process it.
"WHAT DID YOU SAY?!" the brunette's scream echoed throughout Sky High. She looked at her boyfriend, hoping he would tell her it was a terrible joke—but Will didn’t deny it.
"This can’t be happening. Wasn’t that basically forbidden? This has to be a prank they’re pulling on us," Gwen insisted. Despite being the most popular girl at school, she was a huge fan of her friends' relationships and adored the love Layla and Warren shared—or had shared.
"For now, we don’t know anything, and I have no idea where to even begin investigating. I don’t even know if I should ask them," Will said, reaching for his girlfriend’s hand as they walked towards class.
The rest of the group was unsure too. It wasn’t that they didn’t get along with Warren, but they knew he only trusted Layla. He wouldn’t say a word to anyone else.
"Okay, I think I know what we can do," Magenta spoke up. "Will, you’ll talk to Layla, and I’ll go talk to Warren. I don’t care if we’re late to class—we’re going to get to the bottom of this. The rest of you go to class and cover for us, okay?" She asked, though everyone knew it wasn’t really a request.
They all nodded and headed off in different directions. Will, not before giving Gwen a quick goodbye kiss.
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**POV: Will**
The boy searched everywhere for his friend, since she wasn’t in her classroom. Lately, they hadn’t talked much, but that was normal, both were in relationships and knew their partners needed a bit more of their time. Still, that didn’t change the fact that Will deeply cared for Layla, and she cared for him just the same. That’s why he found himself running all over Sky High like a madman, looking for her.
He knew that if his suspicions were true, his friend must be feeling awful—and probably in need of someone. Will headed to the school garden, and there he found her. As he approached, he saw the flowers surrounding his dear friend… and his heart sank. Marigolds.
He quickened his pace and sat beside her. But just as he opened his mouth to say something, she threw herself into his arms, crying.
“Layls, what’s wrong?” he asked, wrapping his arms around her. He felt her hold him even tighter, but she said nothing. Will knew she needed him, words could wait.
“We broke up,” the redhead finally said before bursting into tears again.
Will didn’t know what to say. Should he be mad at Warren? Was it a mutual decision? Who ended the relationship?
All those questions raced through Will’s head, but he couldn’t speak. He had never seen Layla cry like this.
“Layla, sweetie, what happened?” a female voice asked. They both turned toward the voice. It was Gwen.
“Gwen,” Layla said softly, and letting go of Will, she rushed into Gwen’s arms.
“Shh, it’s okay. Try to slow your breathing and tell us what happened,” Gwen whispered, holding her close and gently stroking her hair. She had tried to focus in Medulla’s class, but it was impossible. Eventually, she told the teacher she needed to speak to Principal Powers urgently.
And that’s how she ended up in the garden with her boyfriend and her best friend.
“We argued last night… and we both realized that our relationship had become too monotonous, a bit boring. It was a mutual decision, and we agreed to stay friends because of the love we still feel for each other. But today, I couldn’t even look at him… it hurts too much.” Layla explained, now breathing a bit more calmly, though the tears still streamed down her face.
The couple exchanged glances. Part of them knew those two wouldn’t be able to stay apart for long, but another part feared this might be final.
“Oh, Layls… I completely understand. But do you really think it’s a good idea to stay friends?” Gwen spoke first, still hugging the redhead and looking at Will, waiting for him to say something.
“Gwen’s right… wouldn’t it be easier not to talk to him for a while?” Will added, looking at both girls. He wasn’t exactly great at giving advice.
“No, I don’t want our group to fall apart just because we broke up. And knowing him, he’ll distance himself from everyone. He won’t want to talk to anyone but me,” Layla said, pulling slightly away from Gwen to catch her breath again.
“But honey, how can you be so sure?” Gwen asked, letting her go from the embrace and looking at her directly.
“He told me. He said that if we ever broke up, he wouldn’t want to talk to anyone except me. That’s why he had planned for us to never break up,” Layla explained. As she said those words, her eyes welled up again, though this time she held back the tears.
“What are you going to do, then, Layls?” Will asked, standing up along with the two girls.
“I don’t know… but I’ll figure it out soon,” she said, finally picking up her backpack and walking away, leaving the couple with a lump in their throats.
If Layla was this broken… they couldn’t imagine how Warren must be feeling.
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**POV: Magenta**
The girl knew exactly where to find her friend. Though maybe he didn’t really see them as friends, but still, she knew him well enough. She reached the hallway that led to the garden, and there he was: sitting on the windowsill where she had always seen him, staring outside. And she knew exactly what—or rather who—he was looking at. As she got closer, she saw him quickly wipe away his tears and turn to her like nothing was happening.
“What are you doing here?” was the first thing he said, looking at her wearily.
“I should be asking you that. You and I both know your place is out there, with her,” she replied, sitting next to him.
If someone asked Magenta why she was doing this, she wouldn’t really know what to say. But somehow, she felt like she owed him, for all the times he listened to her talk about her secret crush on Zach, while she listened to him talk about how in love he was with Layla. Even though both of them tried to act like nothing mattered, the truth was they were much more alike than they let on.
“That place doesn’t belong to me anymore,” Warren said, still looking outside. She followed his gaze and saw Layla hugging Will. Magenta understood what he meant and didn’t expect a long explanation, but still, she wanted to keep asking.
“And are you okay with that?” she asked. She already knew the answer, but she needed to hear if there was still an opportunity for them to do something.
“No. But from now on, that’s how things are going to be,” he answered shortly. His words felt cold, almost like the first time they ever spoke, when Layla had introduced them three years ago.
“But they shouldn’t be like that,” she whispered. Everyone knew it, they were meant for each other.
“That’s my destiny: losing the right girl because I’ve got villain blood in me,” he muttered.
That… was something Magenta didn’t expect to hear. In that moment, she realized just how bad Warren was feeling.
“You know that’s not true. Especially not with Layls. She’s always seen the best in you, even when you think there’s nothing good there,” she replied quickly.
“I know. And that’s what hurts the most. Not even the fire inside me burns as much as this. But she shouldn’t be with someone like me,” Warren said, finally tearing his eyes from the window to look at her.
“But why?” Magenta wished she could say more, but she had never been good with words.
“Because she’s a dream come true… and I’ve got insomnia,” he said, grabbing his backpack as he stood up.
Warren took one last look out the window, then turned and walked away, leaving Magenta with a lump in her throat.
She looked outside again and saw her best friend also getting up to leave. Will and Gwen looked toward Magenta, and something in their eyes said it all:
They had to do something. Soon.