The Thaw

Layla never quite knew how she made it through the obligatory victory celebration with her friends that night. She kept finding herself zoning out, thinking about Icy and that last kiss. Why had she kissed her? She could have just let Icy leave. Why hadn't she? Why had she stopped the ice witch and kissed her like that? It had been an impulsive decision on her part, and for the life of her she couldn't figure out why she had gone with the impulse. By all rhyme and reason she should have just let the witch leave. Icy was trouble under the best of circumstances. Besides, as she had told Icy, she did have a boyfriend: Prince Nabu. So why was she courting trouble by kissing one of her worst enemies?

Somehow she managed to act like nothing was wrong. She laughed with her friends, danced with Nabu, said all the right things. Somehow she managed to fool them all into thinking she was happy and enjoying her victory when all the while deep inside she bore a burden of uneasiness that came from not understanding her own actions. She worried about the repercussions of what she had done. Would Icy use it against her? Would she come back? Did she want her to?

Yes, she decided, she did want the ice witch to return, if only to see her again and put these doubts and fears to rest. She needed to see Icy again and affirm that this was over, to confirm that this would never come back to haunt her again. This couldn't be like last time, all those feelings left unresolved, looking back over her shoulder as she walked away. This time there had to be an end to it. She needed closure, and the only way she knew to get that was to talk to Icy face-to-face and tell her it was over.

When the party ended and everybody was headed home to their respective dorms, Musa broke off from the rest of the group and walked beside Layla.

"Hey Layla, mind if I talk to ya for a bit?'

Normally Layla would welcome the opportunity to talk with her best friend alone, but tonight wasn't just any night. She really didn't want anybody finding out about the thoughts that occupied her mind this night, especially not Musa. Still, if she turned Musa down that would be an indication that all was not well with her, and then the questions would begin. It was safest, she figured, to agree and spend a little time relaxing in the company of her best friend. She had made it through the evening with Nabu and all of her friends and their boyfriends. She could last a little while longer with Musa. She gave the music fairy a polite nod.

"Sure. No problem."

The two friends fell in beside each other as they took the scenic route back to Alphea. The party had lasted late enough that the sun was down, but the moon was up, lending plenty of light to see their way by. They stuck to the better-traveled side-paths, where there were more lampposts and less chance of anything unfortunate befalling them. Musa stuck her hands in her pockets and looked down as she walked.

"So I've got this friend, and I'm kind of worried about her."

Layla looked at Musa curiously.

"Why's that?"

Musa gave a shrug.

"Well, she acts like everything's alright but I get this feeling that something's bugging her and she doesn't want to admit it. Something about the way she's acting, ya know? Like she's putting on a happy face to keep anyone from guessing that something's bothering her."

Layla's defenses went up. Was Musa talking about her? What should she do? She decided the safest course was to play it dumb and not admit to anything before she knew for sure.

"What makes you think that?"

The pigtailed girl shook her head.

"I know her pretty well, and there's just something off about the way she's been acting. Sometimes I'm watching her talking with her friends and I see her hesitate just a moment too long before she responds, like she's got to stop and figure out what the right thing is to say so she doesn't give anyone the impression that something's wrong. Or sometimes she'll smile, but it looks like it takes a bit more effort than it ought to. Just little things, but all of them adding up to the impression that something's just not right in her life. And I wanna help her, but I'm just not sure if she'll be willing to open up and talk to me about it, ya know? What do you think?"

By this time Layla figured if Musa wasn't talking about her it was a pretty big coincidence. She realized Musa was giving her a chance to say what was bothering her without admitting right out that it was her they were talking about. If only it were that simple, she thought. Still, Musa was her best friend. If there was anyone she could trust, anyone she owed the truth to, it was her. She raised her hands as though offering Musa something.

"Well, maybe whatever's bothering her is something she doesn't think anyone else would understand. Maybe she doesn't even understand it herself and she just wants some time to try to figure things out. Could be whatever's on her mind she just needs a little time to try to make sense of it all."

Musa nodded slowly, as though thinking that over.

"Maybe. I just hope she knows that whatever she's going through she can count on her friends to stand by her and be there for her, no matter what."

Layla folded her arms over her stomach as though feeling cold and lonely.

"Even if she might be doing something really stupid and making a really big mistake?"

Musa looked at her and gave her a firm nod.

"Especially then. That's when we need friends the most, to help us out when we get in a mess. If she's feeling all mixed up or about to do something not too bright I'd want her to know that I'm right there to help her out if she needs me, no questions asked. Being someone's friend isn't always easy, and it doesn't always make sense, but it's worth all the rough spots in the end."

Suddenly Layla found herself feeling a whole lot better than she had all night. She put an arm around her friend's shoulders and gave her a hug.

"Whoever this friend of yours is, I'm sure she'd be glad to hear that, and I hope she knows how lucky she is to have a friend like you."

Smiling back at her, Musa snaked an arm around Layla's waist and laid her hand on her friend's hip.

"I hope she does too. I know I'm lucky to have her for a friend."

Basking in the warm glow of each other's friendship, the two walked the rest of the way back to Alphea in silence. Layla still didn't know how she was going to arrange to settle things with Icy, but she knew that whatever happened she had a friend she could count on no matter what.