Rhythm and Tides

Note: Anyone who would like to ask me or the characters from the story any questions about how I went about writing the story, why the characters are acting the way they are, or anything else about the story can leave their questions in the Reviews section. Musa, Layla and I will gladly answer them for you.


It was Friday night and Layla was alone in her dorm with only her baby pixie Piff for company. She was slumped back on the couch flipping through channels on the TV when there came a knock on the door. She sat up and pushed MUTE on the remote.

"Just a minute!"

She transferred Piff from the little pixie's favorite sleeping perch atop her head to one of the cushions on the couch, then got up to answer the door. When she opened it she was surprised to see Musa standing in the hallway. One look at her face told Layla that something had upset her. Musa looked up and tried to smile.

"Hey Lay. Can I come in?"

Layla gave her friend a smile that didn't quite mask the concern in her eyes.

"Only if you promise to stop calling me 'Lay'. Makes me sound like a cheap whore."

Musa gave a faint smile at her friend's jest.

"Okay Layla. No problem."

Layla stood back and held the door open wide so Musa could come inside. She was really starting to worry about her friend. Musa just wasn't acting like her usual upbeat self. She knew something must be wrong. She also couldn't help noticing that Musa's prim and proper bonded pixie Tune wasn't with her. She asked about that as she closed the door.

"Isn't Tune with you tonight?"

Musa shook her head.

"Nah. 'Miss Manners' is out with the rest of the gang. I asked her to let me have some alone time for my date with Riven. She got in a bit of a snit when I told her that I didn't need a chaperone."

Layla grinned at that.

"I can imagine."

She gestured for Musa to have a seat on the couch. As they sat down, Piff blinked and opened her eyes. When she looked up and saw Musa, her face lit up with a big, delighted, open-mouthed smile. Babbling in baby talk, Piff flew up to throw her tiny arms around Musa's neck as far as they would go in a big, warm hug. Musa smiled and held up her hands to hug the little pixie in return.

"Hey Piff! I'm glad to see you too."

Layla smiled too. Piff always seemed to know how to make people feel better. It was like she had a sixth sense about that sort of thing.

After a moment, Musa looked up at the TV, which was still running silently.

"Whatcha watchin'?"

Layla glanced at the TV. She noticed it had stopped on an episode of the anime Pretty Mystical Warrior Vampire Hunter Sakura. She picked up the remote and turned it off with a shrug.

"I wasn't really. Just channel surfing."

She set the remote back down and turned to her friend with a concerned look.

"So what brings you here on a Friday night? I thought you had a date with Riven. Did something happen?"

Musa gave Layla a bitter, downcast look while Piff settled into her arms and looked up at her with big, wide eyes.

"Nothing happened. That's the problem. He stood me up."

Layla winced sympatheticly.

"Tell me about it."

Musa lowered her gaze sadly.

"I waited half an hour for him to show up. I tried calling his cell but all I got was his voice mail. Finally I called Timmy and he told me Riven had gone out levibike racing with the guys."

Her eyes flashed with anger as she looked back up at Layla.

"That jerk just totally blew me off!"

Layla laid a sympathetic hand on her friend's shoulder.

"I'm sure he didn't mean to. He probably just forgot. You know how guys are."

Musa leaned back against the couchback, clearly still miffed.

"If you ask me, being a guy is no excuse for treating your girlfriend like she takes second place to some stupid race."

Layla leaned her elbow against the couchback casually.

"Well if you don't like the way he treats you why not just dump him and give that other boy Jared a try?"

Musa glanced at Layla in surprise, taken off guard by the change in tactics.

"Well, Jared is nice and all, but I really like Riven. He's just got a few rough spots we need to work out, that's all."

Layla gave Musa a teasing smirk.

"You know, if you did decide to try dating Jared, I could take Riven off your hands for you."

Musa took one glance at the look on Layla's face and giggled.

"Oh sure. I can just see the two of you now. You'd be dragging him around like a dog on a leash and poor Riven wouldn't know what hit him."

Layla gave a mock offended look.

"Hey! I'm not that dominating."

Musa grinned at her friend's indignation.

"Oh yeah? Who was it I saw making Riven move back on his levibike so she could drive when all of you went to rescue the pixies from Shadowhaunt?"

Layla gave Musa a smug look.

"What can I say? The guy may act all arrogant and bad-ass but he's a push-over for a strong woman who knows what she wants."

Musa's smile disappeared and she looked down.

"Yeah, like Darcy."

Layla sat up straighter and looked at Musa with concern.

"What, you mean that witch who hacked our convergence exam?"

Musa looked up and nodded at Layla unhappily.

"Yeah. Last year she totally got her claws into him. He was at her beck and call. She even had him spying on us for her. We think she must have put a spell on him. He was completely loyal to her, right up until she dumped him."

Layla put her hand on Musa's thigh and looked at her sympatheticly.

"Wow, that's rough. Something like that has gotta mess with your head."

Musa shrugged it off.

"Nah, it's cool. Riven and I worked that out pretty much already."

She looked down at Layla's hand on her thigh.

"Uh, speaking of messing with my head, what's with the hand?"

Layla quickly snatched her hand off Musa's thigh.

"Oh, sorry about that. Just trying to show my support, that's all."

Musa shrugged.

"No big. If I didn't know you better though, I would have thought that you were trying to hit on me."

Layla chuckled nervously.

"Heh heh. Yeah. Good thing you know me better."

Musa's eyes went wide in shock.

"Hey wait! You weren't really trying to ..."

Layla held up both hands in protest as she interupted.

"No no! I swear I wasn't! At least not intentionally."

Musa narrowed her eyes and gave her friend a suspicious look.

"What do you mean 'not intentionally'?"

Layla looked away guiltily.

"I'm sorry Musa. I didn't mean for you to find out like this, but ... I'm attracted to you, as more than just a friend."

Musa's eyes opened wide again with a mix of astonishment and leeriness.

"Whoa! Hey, I hate to break it to you Layla, but I don't swing that way."

Layla gave Musa a rueful grin.

"I know you don't. I mean, you are dating Riven and all. It'd be pretty hard to miss a clue like that. Anyway, your friendship is too important to me to risk jeopardizing it that way."

Musa relaxed and smiled at Layla fondly. She pulled up her feet and wrapped one arm around her knees while she cradled the sleeping Piff in her other arm. It was rare for Piff to stay awake for more than a few minutes at a time, and true to form she had fallen asleep in Musa's arms. Musa tilted her head and gazed at Layla curiously.

"So you're really a lesbian then?"

Layla shook her head.

"Not really. I still like boys too ya know, so I guess that makes me bisexual."

Musa tilted her head back thoughtfully.

"Interesting. So what kind of relationship do you picture yourself ending up in? Will it be with a boy or a girl?"

She turned to Layla with a teasing grin.

"Or maybe one of each?"

Layla smiled back as she pulled up one foot and wrapped both arms around her knee.

"I honestly don't know. I guess it all depends on who Mr. or Ms. Right turns out to be for me."

Musa nodded.

"Makes sense I guess. Okay, here's a question for you: When did you first figure out that you were bi?"

Layla rested her chin on her knee.

"You remember the other day how I told you about the girl who taught me to actually enjoy dancing?"

Musa's eyebrows shot up in surprise.

"You mean, like, she was your first crush?"

Layla nodded.

"The first girl I ever loved. We used to love dancing together. At first I thought that was all it was: friendship and a mutual love for dancing. I never looked any deeper than that. Not until the day my folks found out about her and banished her. I was so broken up about it. I was losing my only friend. It kinda surprised me that my parents let her come see me one last time before she left."

Her eyes took on a far away look as she continued her story.

"I remember sobbing my eyes out on my bed while she sat beside me and stroked my hair. She kept whispering that it was alright, that we'd find each other again someday. I looked up at her and I saw so much love in her eyes. It took my breath away. I wanted to just throw my arms around her and hug her, but I just couldn't stop staring into those eyes of hers. I felt like I was being drawn right into them. Then, before I even realized what I was doing, I found myself kissing her."

Musa's eyes were wide with wonder.

"Whoa! You actually kissed her? Like, on the lips and everything?"

Layla turned to Musa with a look of surprise. Lost in her remembrance of the past, she had momentarily forgotten that Musa was present. Her dark cheeks took on a rosy hue as she nodded in response to Musa's question.

"Mm hmm. On the lips and everything."

Musa let her feet back down on the floor and leaned toward Layla with a look of intense interest.

"Wow. What did it feel like?"

Layla raised an eyebrow at Musa's curiosity.

"You know, for someone who doesn't swing that way, you sure seem awfully eager to hear all the details."

Now it was Musa's turn to sit back and blush.

"Well, uh, I'm ... just curious, okay? I mean, I've never really thought about what it might be like, you know, being with a girl, and I just ..."

Layla grinned at her friend understandingly.

"Just wondered what you might be missing?"

Musa put a hand on the back of her head in embarrassment.

"Eh heh. Something like that."

Layla put her foot back down on the floor, put both hands on her knees and leaned back to stare up at the ceiling.

"It was nice. No, more than nice. It was magical. Her lips were soft, and it felt so right. I don't know which of us was more surprised by what I did, but I think she recovered from it quicker, like maybe she was expecting it somehow. I broke off pretty quick. I was so embarrassed about it. I tried to stammer out an apology, but she took my face in her hands and smoothed her thumbs along my cheeks. She said it was alright, she didn't mind at all, and if I wanted to kiss her again I didn't even need to ask."

Musa was leaning toward Layla again, hanging on every word.

"So did ya?"

Layla looked at Musa and nodded.

"Mm hm. It was awkward at first. I didn't know if I should really be doing it. I did it on impulse the first time before I really thought about it. This time all sorts of thoughts were running through my mind. She'd said it was okay, but did she really want to or did she just say that to make me feel better? What kind of person was I to be kissing my best friend on the lips like that? Was she a lesbian? Was I? And what if my parents found out? What if the guards walked in and caught us doing that? A million different questions kept running through my mind, but as soon as my lips touched hers they all just melted away. I closed my eyes and I could feel my head spinning. It felt like I was in another world and I never wanted to come back."

Musa's reaction was like a prayer whispered in awe.

"Wow. All that from just one kiss?"

Layla gave her friend a teasing grin.

"Well, two kisses, if you wanna get technical. But yeah. It was a powerful experience. I wanted to keep kissing her forever. I don't know how far we might have taken things if we'd had more time, but we both knew our time was short. The guards would be coming to take her away at any time, so we had to stop. So we sat there, holding hands and talking. I don't even remember what we talked about anymore. It's sad, isn't it? My last conversation with my best friend and I can't even remember what we said."

She looked down sadly.

"It wasn't long before the guards came and took her away. I didn't want to let her go, but there was nothing I could do to stop them. As soon as she was gone I broke down and cried again. It felt like my world had been shattered and remade into something beautiful, only to be shattered again and the pieces left lieing on the floor. I still miss her, and I guess I always will."

"No way!"

Layla looked up in surprise at the vehemence in Musa's voice.

"Before she left she told you the two of you would find each other again someday, right? So that means you're not gonna miss her forever. Someday you two are gonna see each other again and then you won't have to miss her anymore."

Layla sniffed and wiped a tear from her eye she had only just noticed was there. She smiled uncertainly at Musa.

"You really think so?"

Musa nodded emphatically.

"I know so. Heart bonds that strong don't break just because people are apart. You may be separated for now, but someday your hearts will lead you back to each other again. You just wait and see."

Layla wiped at the tears that were now rolling freely down her face as she smiled at Musa.

"Thanks Musa. That really means a lot to me."

Musa's face shown with happiness that she was able to make her friend feel better.

"C'mere girl. Give us a hug."

Layla threw her arms around Musa, who returned the gesture with a one-armed hug. A moment later, a little squeak from between the two of them made them separate. They both looked down to see that Piff was awake again, still cradled in Musa's other arm. Musa laughed as she realized they had just squished the little pixie between them.

"Haha! Oops! Sorry Piff! I guess we forgot you were there."

Layla smiled down at Piff fondly and tickled her with a finger.

"Hey there kiddo. Isn't it about your bedtime?"

Musa grinned as Piff giggled merrily.

"When isn't it Piff's bedtime? She sleeps most of the time as it is."

Layla stood up and turned to give Musa a hand up.

"Wanna help me put her to bed?"

Musa accepted her hand and stood up too.

"Sure!"

Layla led Musa into her bedroom and over to the miniature canopied cradle on the bookshelf. Musa set Piff in the cradle while the baby pixy burbled happily. Layla pulled the little blanket up over her with an expression of adoration.

"There you go Piff. Time for nighty-nights. Sweet dreams!"

Piff yawned once, then rolled over on her side and went right to sleep. Musa bent forward with her hands on her knees for a better look. A big smile spread across her face.

"Aaaw! She's just too adorable!"

She looked up at Layla.

"Trade ya?"

Layla smirked back at her.

"As if."

Both girls laughed light-heartedly.