Sunday approx. 10:00 am
My feet rooted to the spot. I was suddenly unable to do anything but stand there and watch as Layla’s lips eagerly meshed into Thomas’s. All the sound in the world had muted.  Horror as he, for one brief gut retching moment, returned her kiss.
‘Thomas.’ I mouthed. His eyes widened, and he hurriedly pushed Layla away. All the sound in the cafeteria rushed back to life.  Without a word, I rushed out past them towards the door. Out of the corner of my eye I could see Layla, silently laughing.  The main hallway was all but deserted as I rushed out.
‘Annabel!’ I heard his voice scream in my head. I never stopped running. ‘Please it’s not what you think…’
‘Shut up, it’s exactly what I think.’
‘I-I’m so sorry. Please just-’
‘I told you to shut up! You lying, cheating…’
‘You saw everything! You know she kissed me first!’
I laughed, both in thought and in reality. ‘Then why did you kiss her back?’
There was nothing more to say. I heard his voice start up again, pleading ‘Anna-’   
Without being aware of how, I cut him off. It was as easy as hanging up a cell phone. Silence rang in my ears while I kept running…running…running…
I knew I had to stop somewhere. Somewhere that was private, quiet, and I could be alone. I spotted the only place that I knew would be empty for hours, a small auditorium that was labeled for poetry. I sighed in relief, knowing no one would have reason to be in there for at least a couple of hours.
I pushed open the doors, and was instantly cloaked in darkness. Only one source of light came-a dull yellow glow that hovered over the stage. My running pace slowed as I inched my way towards it. The outside world became muted.  Finding the staircase up to the stage in this light was difficult, but once onstage I was amazed at how bright it seemed. A huge sigh escaped my lips, as I plunked down on the edge.
How could I have been so stupid? It was so typical that he would do something like this. I wish I didn’t care. Why did I? He had screwed this up. He didn’t even see us through. I had trusted him, put some faith-and in one instant he had destroyed everything.  Well, I guess people don’t change-especially not wizards.
I closed my eyes. Why did I never have my iPod when I needed it? Oh I needed to listen, to get sucked out of the world. Instead, I began to whisper the familiar lyrics softly.
“Just talk yourself up
And tear yourself down
You ripped through one wall
Now find a way around
Well what's the problem?
You've got a lot of nerve…”

After the first verse my voice only steadily rose-I began to truly sing, loud and proud, as the chorus came up.

“What'd you think I would say?
You can't run away, you can't run away
So what did you think I would say?
You can't run away, you can't run away
You wouldn't

I never wanted to say this
You never wanted to stay
I put my faith in you, so much faith
And then you just threw it away
You threw it away…”

Without even thinking about it I had stood up. In my mind, I could almost hear the guitar and drums blasting in the background.

“I'm not so naive
My sorry eyes can see
The way you fly shy
Of almost everything
Well, if you give up
You'll get what you deserve

What'd you think I would say?
You can't run away, you can't run away
So what did you think I would say?
You can't run away, you can't run away
You wouldn't

I never wanted to say this
You never wanted to stay
I put my faith in you, so much faith
And then you just threw it away
You threw it away”

All the emotions began to leak out as I went into the final verse and chorus. Tears ran down my face in endless streams.

“You were finished long before
We had even seen the start
Why don't you stand up, be a man about it?
Fight with your bare hands about it now

I never wanted to say this
You never wanted to stay well did you
I put my faith in you, so much faith
And then you just threw it away

I never wanted to say this
You never wanted to stay
I put my faith in you, so much faith
And then you just threw it away”

My voice died, the last note echoed back across the auditorium. My breathing was coming in short rapid bursts. Now that I was standing, I could only look out over the now silent auditorium. Raising a hand I lifted a hand and wiped the remaining tears off of my face. Suddenly I heard a faint noise.
Clap, clap. Applause? The faint clapping was growing closer to the stage. I could only make out an outline as the person approached.
“You!” I hissed out, the mellow mood instantly evaporating as I saw her.
Layla sighed, her features unclear in the dimness. “Please don’t start.”
“You little bit-” Layla lifted a hand, and my voice died. Though my lips kept forming words, no sound came out.
“Don’t worry, I’ll give it back.” She smiled as I clutched my throat. Without much effort, she leapt onto the stage, her long hair billowing around her like a cape.
“I just don’t want to deal with the standard swearing and catfight that normally ensues after I do something…” she chuckled darkly, “…Less than presentable.”
Layla turned to face me, her green eyes glinting under the dull light, “So let’s pretend we went through all that, and skip to the good bits. Such as the part where you ask me what the hell I thought I was doing.”
With a whoosh, I felt as thought I had taken a huge gulp of air. Sound rushed out of my windpipe in a hurried flow, “I hate you!”
Layla rolled her eyes, “I wanted to skip the banter. Anyway that ‘insult’ is highly unoriginal. But then, why should I expect higher of a mortal?”
“Is that why you did it then? Because I’m, a mortal? Are you jealous of that?”
Her lips curled up again, “Fast jump of topic. Now this is getting interesting.” She turned from me and sat down at the edge of the stage, “Jealously… a good guess, very logical. However, it is not correct. Come child, sit, we can be civilized about this.”
I stood in defiance, “Why should I be? I’ve got no reason to even be talking to you right now.”
“Yet you still stand. How odd. I’m sure Thomas told you at least a little about me through that spell of his.”
“How do you-”
“I know because it was in my best interest to know. Plus he told me right after he cast the thing. That spell of his was remarkable-but it puzzled me. However, you didn’t seem to mind it, and it really wasn’t my place. Still it makes you wonder-”
“You’re rambling, get to the point.”
Layla’s head turned to face me, “And which point would that be?”
With a frustrated roar I was ready to go and tear out all of Layla’s hair. She simply closed her eyes, murmuring under her breath. Lighting pain shot through every inch of my body, causing me to collapse in pain.
It took me several minutes to get the strength to stand up again. By then, Layla had continued speaking. “Honestly I can’t understand why you mortal’s follow emotions so much. Can’t you tell when someone isn’t being serious?”
I couldn’t respond, both out of hatred and the dull throbbing pain still running in my muscles.
“Well you see, I kissed him…because…” Layla’s voice drifted off. She placed a hand on her chin, “Oh what’s the simplest way I can explain this.”
“I’m not an idiot.”
“I know you’re not. Thomas always did like some brains. It’s just my motivations aren’t narrowed easily.”
“Are you saying there’s more than one?”
“Essentially, yes. I can give you a general picture.” Layla stood up again, turning her back to me as she walked to stage left. “Let’s just say I was proving a theory I had on motives- mostly yours and his. To see if something was true, that all the rumors I had heard over the years were correct. I got my answers.  Also I suppose I did it to show something neither of you had bargained for. I’ll bet it never crossed your minds. But I have seen much, and I know much. I see things others don’t notice Do you understand what I am talking about?”
I stared at her, speechless.
“Yeah, it doesn’t make much sense that way, but it’s the only way I can explain it to you. I’m sure you’ll figure out what I meant. However, there is one more thing I now have to do. You’ll be interested.” With one fluid motion she spun around and flashed what appeared to be a small business card. I studied it and my eyes widened.
“I have some connections. All of the places on that card are simply singing. If you can act a little- I can offer more places. As long as your auditions are as good as that rendition of Paramore I heard earlier-”
“Are you offering me a job?” I whispered, my head spinning. On the card was a neatly printed list of theatre companies.
“In a manner of speaking.”
I shook my head in disbelief. “I can’t understand you at all. You come here, out of nowhere. You then go and kiss-” I stopped, almost saying the word. I shook off the thought. We weren’t quite there yet. “Basically give me every reason to hate you. Then you turn around and give me this? Why?”
Layla just kept smiling, pulling out a broomstick, “Because I know my motives won’t change. I’m not so sure if yours will. Keep that card-just in case. I’ll be in touch.”
A whirl of wind sprang out of nowhere. A large dust cloud whooshed around her and her broomstick. I shielded my eyes, closing them to block out the dust. When I opened them-she was gone. Only that small white card in my hand remained.