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The Thaw	By : Shaellin Category: +S through Z > Winx Club Views: 7499 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 1
Disclaimer: I do not own Winx Club, nor any of the characters from it. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Chapter List
- 6
- 7
- 8
Layla finally stopped running when she came within sight of Alphea. Stopping to catch her breath, she looked back to make sure Icy hadn't followed her then proceeded at a more leisurely pace back onto school grounds. She wasn't sure why the ice witch was frightening her so badly. All the times they had fought before hadn't been nearly this scary. Hell, this wasn't even a battle, so why was she running scared?
She was sure Icy had noticed. All her efforts to act like nothing was wrong had been completely wasted the moment that she turned and ran. *Idiot!* she thought to herself. *You just turned your back and ran from a witch. Whatever she makes of that is your own fault.*
The question remained, why had she run? Why was she so terrified of Icy lately? It seemed like every time they kissed she would just fall to pieces. The kiss... That appeared to be the common element. She was fine around Icy most of the time, even if she was a little nervous sometimes, but then they would kiss and all that went right out the window. Why was that so scary? Heck, why were they even kissing in the first place? None of this was making any sense to her.
She felt like she needed someone to talk to, someone to give her some advice. But who could she talk to about this? She was kissing a witch! Icy, of all people! Who could she possibly admit that to? Who could even begin to understand what it was like to have strange feelings for someone who was supposed to be your enemy?
As she walked in the main gate she spotted Musa sitting with the redheaded former witch Mirta. The two of them seemed to be engaged in a pretty good discussion. Just like that a lightbulb came on in Layla's brain. Mirta! If anyone would have a good grasp of the dynamics at work between Fairies and Witches it would be her! As Layla walked up to them Musa spotted her and stood up from the bench they were seated on.
"Hey Layla! I'm glad you're back! How'd things go?"
Layla gestured noncommittally.
"Alright I guess. What're you doing here? I thought you said you were heading into town to check out the new releases."
Musa shook her head.
"I couldn't go, not knowing who you were going to meet. If anything happened to you and I wasn't here..."
Layla laid her hand on Musa's shoulder.
"Musa, I'm fine. Nothing happened. You shouldn't have stuck around on my account."
Mirta looked back and forth between the two friends in confusion.
"Uh, maybe it isn't my place to ask but what are you guys talking about?"
Layla turned toward her.
"Actually I was kind of hoping I could talk to you about it and maybe get your advice."
Mirta looked surprised. She knew the Winx Club considered her a friend but she'd never exactly been one of their inner circle. For one of them to come to her for advice was a little unusual.
"Well, sure! I mean, if you think I can help."
The dark-skinned Princess of Tides gave her an encouraging smile.
"That's what I'm hoping. Why don't we go for a walk and we can talk about it?"
Mirta stood up with a quiet little smile.
"Alright. Sure."
Musa stuck her thumbs in her pants pockets and stepped over next to Layla.
"Sounds good to me. Let's go."
Layla had really meant to talk to Mirta alone, but she couldn't think how to say that to Musa without hurting her feelings. Thinking it over she decided that maybe it wouldn't be such a bad idea to let Musa in on this. Musa was her best friend and she already knew more about the situation than anyone else, even if that wasn't very much. She nodded and led them back out the main gate, heading for the nearby groves. She looked over at Mirta.
"What we were talking about just now was this: a few minutes ago I went down to the lake to meet with Icy."
Mirta gaped at her in wide-eyed shock.
"With Icy? Why would you go to see her? She's majorly bad news."
Layla stuck her hands in her shorts pockets and looked down with a thoughtful frown.
"Yeah, I know that, but it's different now."
She looked up at the red-headed former witch.
"You heard about the ill wind that was making everybody forget things?"
Mirta nodded.
"Yeah. The Trix set that up so nobody would remember all the terrible things they'd done. But you guys stopped them and they wound up getting dunked in their own potion and forgetting everything."
Musa chimed in from Layla's other side.
"Yeah, that's right. And because of that they got accepted back into Cloud Tower instead of being sent back to Light Haven."
Layla stared at the ground a few yards ahead as she kept walking between her two friends.
"So that kind of leaves the question open as to whether they're still as bad as they used to be or not. I mean they essentially had their lives erased, so they could become anyone they wanna be now."
Musa's face scrunched up in a scowl.
"Yeah, but do they really wanna be anything different than what they were before? There's a reason they went bad in the first place. Losing their memories might not change that."
Layla turned her head to look at Musa.
"It might not, but then again it might. Don't they deserve a chance to change?"
Mirta leaned forward to look at them both.
"What's all this got to do with Layla going to see Icy?"
Layla turned to look at her.
"Well, this weekend we had that big inter-school ice-skating competition?"
When Mirta nodded she continued.
"You may have heard that Nabu and I won, but it was pretty close. Icy and her partner came in second. They were really good. I wasn't really sure we were gonna be able to top their performance, but I guess we did. But like I said, she put on a really great performance too. I kinda felt bad that she wasn't going to get any recognition for all the effort she put into that performance just because she came in second and not first. Then some guy in the audience threw a rose for me and I thought 'Why not?' So I picked it up and I gave it to Icy in honor of her performance."
Mirta gazed at Layla in wonder.
"Wow. So how'd she take it?"
Layla shook her head and grinned.
"She didn't really seem to know how to take it. I wasn't sure she was gonna accept it for a few moments there, but she did in the end. Then afterward she came back to my dressing room to ask me about it."
Musa blinked at this news.
"She did? You didn't tell me about that part."
Layla gave her a guilty look.
"Well, I guess I'm telling you now. She thought maybe I was making fun of her or something, but I told her that she had earned it and that's all there was to it. Then... she kissed me."
The other two girls gaped in astonishment. Musa stepped in front of Layla and placed both hands on her shoulders to stop her.
"Whoa! Let me get this straight. She actually kissed you? Like, on the lips and everything?"
Layla kept her face tilted down slightly but looked up into her friend's eyes.
"Mm-hm. On the lips and everything."
Mirta leaned forward earnestly.
"So what'd you do?"
Layla glanced at the redhead as a blush crept across her cheeks.
"I kissed her back."
Musa and Mirta glanced at each other, Mirta with a worried look, Musa with a look of sheer dismay. Mirta seemed to find her voice first as she looked back at the dark-skinned princess.
"So how was it?"
Layla closed her eyes and gave a sigh.
"Like nothing I've ever felt before. I couldn't believe how gentle she was. Those first two kisses we shared there in the dressing room were almost magical."
Musa gripped Layla's shoulders harder.
"Whoa, hold on! 'First two'? How many times have you kissed her exactly?"
Layla opened her eyes and gave Musa a guilty look.
"Well, twice more since then. Both today. Once between classes and again down at the lake."
Mirta placed a hand on Musa's wrist and gave her a look that begged her to ease up.
"Were they the same as the first two kisses?"
Layla shook her head.
"It was different today. She seemed more insistent. More demanding. But she still managed to rock my world as much as she did that night."
Musa gave her a harsh frown.
"I'll bet she did. Layla, the girl's playing you. You shouldn't trust her."
Layla brushed the music fairy's hands off her shoulders.
"Look, you don't know that. None of us knows that. She's a blank slate, just starting to recreate her life from scratch. Who knows what she's thinking?"
She turned to look at Mirta.
"Actually, that's why I wanted to talk to you. Whatever kind of person she's becoming she's still a witch. You know more about witches than we do. What do you think about all this?"
Mirta shook her head at the enormity of the question.
"You're asking me? I only spent a year at Cloud Tower before I came to Alphea, and during that time I wasn't exactly in with the 'in crowd', if you know what I mean. Anyway, Icy, Darcy and Stormy were seniors and I was just a freshman. What do I know?"
Layla placed her hands gently on Mirta's shoulders.
"You spent a whole year around witches. You were one of them. You must know a bit about how witches think in general, what they're like when there aren't any fairies around to fight with. You can give me a little idea what to expect from her."
Mirta stared at her unhappily.
"If she's anything like most witches you probably don't wanna bother, and if she's anything like she used to be you definitely don't wanna get involved with her. Witches tend to be petty and cruel. Catty, ya know. If a witch is nice to you it generally means they either want something from you or they're setting you up for a fall. Icy and her crew were among the first to teach me it's best to keep your head down and watch your back when you're around a witch."
Layla gave a small nod.
"Okay, yeah, but what about when a witch really, honestly likes someone?"
Mirta lowered her eyes.
"Then she's a fool, and the rest will make sure she learns it. Witches don't know the meaning of 'nice'. Anyone caught trying to be nice gets schooled. In CT you rely on yourself and that's it. Alliances are for convenience. Dalliances are for fun. Witches fall in lust, not in love. And forget friendship. Trust someone with your back and you'll find a knife in it."
The look in Layla's eyes turned to one of hardened determination.
"But what about the strong ones, like Icy? What if you're strong enough that nobody can push you around?"
Mirta raised her eyes to meet Layla's gaze with a sorrowful look.
"Then you're one of the ones pushing everyone else around, making them conform to your rules. It's survival of the fittest. Nobody gets to the top without stepping on everyone else in their path."
Musa pulled Layla away from the redheaded former witch.
"Layla, what're you doing? Leave it alone. You hear what Mirta's saying. Even if Icy's different now, being a witch still means you can't trust her."
Layla turned to glare at her, gesturing toward Mirta.
"What, like Mirta? She's a witch. Are you saying we can't trust her?"
Mirta looked down at her shoes.
"I was never much of a witch. That's why I jumped at the chance to come here when it was offered. I don't really belong at Cloud Tower."
Musa barreled on through, barely giving Mirta the chance to finish speaking.
"And what about Nabu, huh? You gonna abandon him now because Icy's such a great kisser?"
Layla shook her head angrily.
"No! You just don't get it!"
Musa pointed a finger at Layla's face.
"You're right, I don't get it! I don't see why you wanna go with someone you know is gonna break your heart when you've already got a great guy like him!"
Layla glared at the music fairy.
"It's not like that! She's just a friend!"
Musa spread her arms and leaned forward.
"Uh, yeah, right! A friend who gives you kisses that 'rock your world'! By the way, your words, not mine."
Fire flashed in Layla's eyes as she stared back at her friend. A moment later she reached out with both hands to grab the sides of Musa's head, then leaned in to plant a fierce kiss right on her lips. Musa's eyes went wide as she froze up in shock. Mirta gave a shocked gasp as she watched the two friends kissing.
Then Layla broke the kiss and pulled back, letting go of Musa's head. She was shocked as she realized what she had just done, the more so as she took in the look of shock and dismay on Musa's face. She didn't know what she had expected to happen when she did that, but this certainly wasn't it.
She looked to her right and took in the look of absolute stunned confusion on Mirta's face. This was all wrong. Everything was wrong. What had she done? Taking one more look back at Musa, Layla burst into tears, turned and ran. Musa raised her hand toward the retreating girl's back.
"Layla, wait!"
Mirta laid a gentle hand on Musa's arm.
"Let her got for now. I think she needs a little time by herself to sort things out."
Musa gave Mirta a worried look, then looked back at Layla's racing form disappearing among the trees. She held a loosely closed fist over her heart.
"Oh Layla. What's happening to you?"
- 6
- 7
- 8
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The Thaw