220 Confronting Layla

It appeared like everyone was busy, dead set on doing their own thing. Because of this, Vorden was finding the situation a little boring. Before, he would often spend his spare time teaching Peter on how to use the earth ability.

If it wasn't something like that, then Vorden would be racking up his head, trying to figure out how to get out of a tough situation. It was as if he always liked to keep his mind busy. If he was left on his own accord, there were only two people who he could talk to. Although, they seemed to be always a bad influence on him.

As of the moment, the uninteresting occurrences were transpiring.

"Hey, do you really think we can trust her?!" Raten shouted as he asked. "We knew something was up and it looks like we were right, working for Pure. Who knows what she's already told them."

"They could be after Quinn." Sil said while continuing to rock back and forth.

"Guys, will you all just calm down!" Vorden hollered, annoyed of his companions' complaints. "Sil, I know you're worried, but if Layla has done something, I think Pure or her would have done something by now. Yet, no harm has come to him."

With these words, Sill's gradually slowed down the motion he had been doing. This was a sign that Sil was starting to calm down a little. Now, Vorden needed to deal with another person. The more riled up Raten got, it would affect Sil to a similar level.

Vorden's aim was always to keep Sil as calm as possible at any point in time. If Sil wanted to, he was the only one who could remove anyone from the chair.

There was always this fear with Vorden -- Although he wanted the best for Sil, if Sil ever did remain on the chair, what did that mean for both him and Raten?

"What about the next portal outing?" Raten queried. "What if she plans to make her next move then? We need to find her real goal. Actually… scratch that. No risks, just off with her we go."

"Fine." Vorden replied, giving in to the idea. He knew firsthand that if he didn't do something, Raten would continue down this path and eventually, he would make Sil worry. "Then, I will go talk to Layla."

A few moments passed, Vorden could be seen walking around the school aimlessly, searching for all the popular spots where the other students would usually hang out at. Regrettably for him, as he arrived at each area, he did not find any trace of Layla.

'Who does Layla even hang around with?' Vorden contemplated on the matter. As he reminisced, he thought of the two students who were the sole people that he had seen Layla talk to - They were Quinn and Erin.

Presently, with Erin gone and Quinn consistently spending his time in the VR pod, it meant that Layla would be most likely in her room. Thus, Vorden proceeded to go to the dorms to try and meet Layla.

Her name was Cia and she was the third person who was occupying Erin and Layla's room.

"What do you want, blondie?" Cia said with an irked tone in her voice, seemingly bothered by Vorden's appearance.

"Is Layla there?" Vorden asked.

"Are you her boyfriend?" Cia said as she scanned Vorden's body from head to toe. "I'm guessing you two had an argument or something, judging how she's been since yesterday. Or maybe, it was the fact that she found out her best friends were terrorists, but she's not here."

This was the explanation the school had given - That eight students had been found with connections to the group known as Pure and were taken to the dungeon as a form of punishment.

"She's not a terrorist," Vorden mumbled. He didn't know why, yet hearing Erin's name trashed like that by a stranger, who didn't know the truth of the whole matter, really annoyed him.

"Whatever man. Look, if you want to find layla,, she's usually by the back of the building, sitting on the bench just underneath the large tree. Erin and her would often go there together."

With that piece of information, Vorden left without saying another word. Most commonly than not, he would be a bit more polite. However, something about Cia just rubbed him the wrong way.

"Oh pretty boy!" Cia shouted. "If you and Layla aren't an item, then feel free to pop a visit in my room anytime." She said, winking at him as she closed the door.

"Now, that's my type." Raten said.

"Shut up." Vorden replied as he went off to the location that Cia had informed him about.

The sun had already set and the darkness encompassed the sky. Although it still wasn't very late, usually, the sun would set after seven in the evening. While walking to the location though, Vorden felt like it would be strange to be seen anywhere in the area.

It might be fine in the middle of the day, but at night was plainly bizarre. As he turned the corner, he did indeed see someone sitting alone on a bench right underneath a tree.

Vorden moved in closer and closer. Eventually, he reached the spot in front of her. It wasn't until the last moment that Layla lifted her head up. Her eyes were bloodshot and her face was a little swollen. There were signs indicating that she had been crying for most of the night.

"Vorden, what do you want?" Layla asked in a rude tone. She had just lost her best friend, and the last person she wanted to see was lingering before her eyes.

"I think we need to talk about whether or not I can trust you?" Vorden asked.

"This again." Layla moned. "Here, why should I care if you even trust me or not? Let's put it straight, Vorden. Me and you are not friends and we probably never will be. Especially since you keep acting like this all the time."

"Look, Layla, I need to know. I thought it was fine, but now that I know you're a part of Pure…"

"So what?" Layla interrupted Vorden. "I was in Pure this whole time before everything started. The only difference now is that you guys know about it. That hasn't changed who I am, and let me ask you. Aren't you going around accusing me all the time? But what about you? Why do you care so much about Quinn?"

At this point, Layla had stood up from the bench and was starting to inch closer towards Vorden. Accordingly, he continued to step back every time she took a step forward. Withal, it wasn't because he was scared of her, but because of the voices in his head.

"If she takes one more step closer to us Vorden and you don't do anything about it, I swear..." Raten said, his tone a tad threatening.

"Shut up!" Vorden shouted as he grabbed his head. "Layla, I need to trust you. If I can't trust you, then I'm afraid of what will happen to you." When Vorden spoke of these words, he wasn't saying them in his usual tone of voice.

Layla picked up on this, since he had said it sincerely and it made Layla frightened a little. She knew something was up with Vorden, but wasn't sure just what.

'Perhaps, it was a drawback of his powerful ability?' She thought 'But just what was happening to Vorden? And why did he give so much attachment to Quinn?

"Then tell me, Vorden, what can I do to prove I'm on your side?" She asked.

Fortunately, Vorden had prepared an answer for this question. Hence, as he walked over to her, it was the only thing he could think of. "Let Quinn turn you into a vampire. That way, I know that you're on his side."

****

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