PHILLIP WOLFF, JULIANE NGUYEN, & LAYLA BRODERICK:
“Right right, I forgot I was talking to a skater.” She paused to take a moment to process that their arms were currently across her shoulders. She was way too sober for this. “Well if it’s alright with you, I’ll still try to avoid causing your toes some nerve damage in these heels. If you don’t already have nerve damage there,” she tried to crack in order to tame her nerves. But she was beyond the point of help as she was extremely aware of the proximity of their bodies in this moment. She didn’t realize how her nerves-influenced remark could have been taken until Riley – hopefully not seriously – questioned it. “Ah – no, that’s not… I didn’t mean right now.” She shook her head. “L-Leon’s cool. This song’s great.” Maybe not talking would would her more good. She kept her eyes on the other couples, heart pounding as she failed to ignore the light touch of their fingers along the back of her neck. Then she momentarily forgot how to breathe as they rested their head against her chest. She prayed to whatever higher power was out there that they wouldn’t be able to hear the way her heart was eagerly tried to find its way up her throat. Be cool, be cool, be cool, she thought to herself repeatedly. She was not cool right now. She was the furthest thing from cool.
Riley breaking the silence was appreciated, and Layla found the courage to finally look at them in the eye as they spoke. Again, she was very aware of their closeness and her chest only continued to pound at their compliment, but what Riley said next knocked that out of focus temporarily. She lifted an eyebrow. While what they were saying was ridiculous, she would pick ridiculous over letting her nerves drown her right now. “What… oh my God,” she rolled her eyes as she cracked a smile. She bit down on her lip to suppress a laugh, as Riley giggled into her chest. She wasn’t even sure what to say to that, but then any reply she had try to conjure up in her mind faded as her focus shifted. The two of them here, right now, just dancing and laughing… it was nice, she thought. She was dancing and laughing with Riley. Teenage her would’ve never believed it. Her urge to laugh finally died down and she was left with a content smile. She really did love weddings.
Her eyes went back to Riley as they spoke again. Her smile softened at the compliment. There was a shift, at least on her end. She didn’t take it as one of Riley’s usual compliments that made her want to sink behind the coffee bar. “So do you,” she returned the compliment, shockingly not stammering this time in response. She was surprised at Riley’s question. Did that mean something? Did she just want it to mean something? Does it matter? she asked herself. Say yes anyway, idiot! Before she had the opportunity to answer, Riley was cut off by the unexpected appearance of Juli and Lip. If this were a movie, Layla imagined this is where the sound editor would put a record scratch.
“H-heyyyyyyy,” she drew out the greeting, taking the extra second to process that Lip was also present. Not exactly the face she wanted to see immediately followed the elation she had been experiencing only a few seconds prior. Her eyes were only on him for half a second before they went to Juli. Reluctantly, she let go of Riley’s waist and let her hands drop to her sides. “What’s up…” Her eyes narrowed slightly at Juli, silently telling her that she had better not say a word about this later.
Even with Juli at the brink of being wasted, she realized that they had interrupted the two at a bad time. Seeing as the other two suddenly retracted themselves from one another, Juli tried her best not to laugh as she witnessed the two playing coy about their flirtationship. “Layla,” Juli greeted before quickly addressing Riley with a smirk. “Riley, you look amazing in red.” She complimented, trying her best to avoid Layla’s glares. While Riley and Juli had barely spoken a few words, Juli always felt comfortable around them. Out of their group of friends, she would even say that Riley had always been the most approachable… and there were times in the past that she wondered if it was a perk of being Layla’s best friend.
Glancing over at Layla, Juli knew she was signaling her to not say anything… but she couldn’t help it. She was so happy for the other woman to finally be making her move. And what kind of best friend would she be if she didn’t say anything about it? As a mental note, Juli decided that she had to bring this up to Layla later, especially after their conversation about who was going to fall in love first. When she absolutely couldn’t hold it in, she turns to face Layla more slyly. “I’m going to the store later, do you need me to buy you anything? A few notebooks?” She whispered and recoiled behind Lip a second after before Layla could have a chance to retaliate.
Following behind Juli after she spotted Layla and Riley, Lip gets momentarily distracted when he spots Warren in the distance, surrounded by— Brows knitted, he tilted his head. Arya and Sutton? —And Carolyn? Mind busy with whatever could be going on, Lip comes to a halt when he hears Riley greet them, nearly bumping into Juli. “Hey Riles,” he responds without really thinking, his eyes briefly fixed on his shoes before pandering up to greet them. His brow raises, a smirk growing on his face as he scans Riley from head to toe. “—Oh shit, now that is how you wear a suit!” Lip laughs, stepping forward a bit to hug them. “You look amazing!” He couldn’t believe his eyes, the very sight of them nearly having him yank his phone out to take pictures like some sort of pageant mom. After parting from Riley, Lip steps back, turning to note Layla’s get up too. “You look great too, Layla,” he smiles, in an attempt to forget the way she reacted to seeing him. Lip had a feeling she didn’t like him— the idea forming since he upset her back at The Hideout. He still wasn’t sure if it was something he said, or if it was… him in general. Either way, it bothered him— and it wasn’t like she was being subtle about it either. After Juli speaks, Lip returns note the state of Riley and Layla, slowly coming to the realization that they might’ve interrupted something here… @rileyjackscn
An overexerted roll of their eyes was given in response to Lip’s compliment, but it was clear it was all for show and dramatics with their large, toothy grin giving them away. “Oh please... don’t act so surprised. You know I Iive for showing all of the locals up,” they reply with a wave of their hand. Although they knew they looked good, Riley couldn’t help but revel in their friend’s compliment, giving him a small twirl. “Okay, but....” their eyes look him up and down, finger waving over him, “...look at you. And those suede shoes! Whew! Give the locals a heads up before you come in here looking all swoon worthy.” The hug that followed was also more than welcome, allowing their body to lean into him and give an extra tight squeeze.
Before pulling away, Riley gave him a quick kiss on the cheek. Now with their attention back on their small group, Riley’s eyebrows raise at Juli’s comment. A notebook? The registration hits and their eyes light up, “Wait—” attention turns back to Layla as they gently nudge her, “—Are you screenwriting? Why didn’t you tell me?” After the podcast and hearing her talk about her passion, Riley was ecstatic to hear that she might be actively pursuing it. Their eyes linger a bit longer on her, smile warm and encouraging, before turning back to Juli and Lip, “So uh.... were you both gonna join us and do a little dance? Juli, don’t tell me... you’re a tango gal aren’t you?” // @layla-broderick