#clayla

Rayla had prepared herself for a lot of outcomes when she decided to finally ask Claudia out. Callum was growing tired of her hopeless lamenting, and Ezran isn’t quite old enough to full grasp the dire situation that is a crush, so she made a decisions.

Like every decision, it came with consequences. Rayla thought out every possible answer she may receive, from an over enthusiastic ‘yes,’ to Claudia casting a curse on her to last a lifetime for even suggesting they go out. What she hadn’t expected, was for Claudia to run off crying.

Rayla had been so shocked by her response, that she’s spent the last two hours sitting in the dirt. Her mind is trying to wrap itself around what the fuck just happened, but to no avail.

She’s still sitting there when Soren comes and finds her. He looks at her with that soft look on his face that alerts her to the fact that they’re about to have a heart to heart, and sits down next to her. Rayla pulls her legs to her chest and looks at him, hoping that he’ll have some sort of insight on how to interpret Claudia’s reaction.

“Bro,” Soren says, slowly, “you’re kind of a bitch.”

Rayla doesn’t know how to react. Everyone seems to act the exact opposite way Rayla expects them too.

“What?” she asks, too shocked to sound mad.

Soren shakes his head. “That prank you pulled on Claudia,” he says, confusing Rayla further. “Look, we’re bros. You know that I love you. But that was a real shitty move.”

Rayla groans into her knees, head swimming. “I don’t get it,” she says. “Is Claudia straight? Did I traumatize her with my gay?”

Soren giggles at her choice of words, and she’s grateful for the moment of familiarity. At least some reactions she can still guess.

“Bro, come on,” Soren says, trying to keep the lingering amusement from his voice. “First of all, Claudia is bi. Second of all, we both know what today is. Playing dumb isn’t going to work here.”

He gives her a look, and she almost feels offended. Playing dumb is much more of Soren’s thing, than hers. It’s hardly as believable when she does it.

“What is today?” Rayla asks, and Soren sighs.

“April Fool’s Day,” he says, and something clicks.

Callum had told her about the weird holiday a while ago, but she’d quickly forgotten about it. She lets her head thump back against the wall.

“God,” she says, pinching the bridge of her nose. “Elves don’t have that holiday, Soren.”

It takes a minute, but realization washes over his face. Soren is up in a flash, and he pulls Rayla along with him.

She doesn’t ask where he’s taking him, because she’s pretty sure she knows. Claudia’s sitting on a rock, in a similar position that Rayla had been in.

She looks at them when Soren snaps a branch under his foot, and Rayla’s heart jerks at the tears on her face.

“What do you want?” Claudia asks, spitting the words like venom.

“Elves don’t have April Fool’s Day,” Soren says, before Rayla can speak. “She didn’t know what today was, and she actually likes you. Rayla, Claudia has liked you for a long time, and would definitely like to go out with you Friday. Do you accept?”

Rayla looks at Claudia, who seems a bit too shell-shocked to really react to what’s happening.

Nonetheless, she says, “Yes.”

Soren looks at Claudia expectantly. Her mouth opens and closes a few times before a single word comes out. “Yeah.”

Soren claps happily before looping his arm around Rayla’s shoulders.

“Glad we got this sorted out,” he says, and spins himself and Rayla around.

He marches them forward a few steps, determined to go let Rayla clear her head and process what just happened when Claudia calls for him.

“I’m your ride home,” she says, with exasperated fondness.

“Oh,” Soren says, and Rayla tries to hide her laugher into a fist. “Right. Later!”