Layla & Garrison, Layla & Sarah | Saturday night

[x-mandelbrot.livejournal.com]

Layla tries to capture the cause of the weirdness on her phone.

Layla had a mission. That mission was to take extensive photographs of everyone present. Sure, there were the obvious uses like blackmailing or embarrassing the hell out of people, but there was a higher cause here. There was weirdness afoot and they had to figure out why, which meant chronicling everything so people who knew about these sorts of things could dissect said photos and figure it out in a totally Scooby Doo fashion.

At first she thought it would mostly be funny. Everyone was acting totally off their rocker and later they would see what total idiots they were being. It would be hilarious. She found her RA first, which was hard to miss what with the giant red lacy thing she had going on. Yvette seemed so reserved normally but she was a total camera whore, living up the Gaga spotlight hoarding and everything. Layla had at least a half dozen photos of her posing before she'd managed to convince Gaga she had to do something else.

After Yvette came Molly who was sipping something out of a tea cup and...measuring someone's head? Layla crept about to snap a few shots of her being entirely too creepy. Maybe it wasn't supposed to be creepy but all she could think was that Molly was going to cut someone's skull open and have brain salad. Too many zombie movies, probably. But at least Dr. Grey-Summers wasn't being creepy. Weird as fuck, yeah, but not creepy. Layla figured the pictures of her science teacher sitting in the apple bobbing tub combing her hair with a fork should at least be funny for the next week.

She was still snickering at then when she came across that Wade guy throwing her history teacher over his shoulder. And he just walked off with her like that. Well, sort of. She was kind of trying to bash his face in with her little plastic gun. Layla got as many pictures of that as possible before moving on to Meggan doing...something? She kinda looked like a bull about to charge, but her horn was all askew and she was floating. Why was she floating? Since when did unicorns float? And why was she going to attack Muppet Yoda?

These people were so damn confusing. Layla really hoped this level of bizarre wasn't like a regular thing she could set her watch by. She was cool with weird in personality quirk kinda way. But bat shit crazy in epic proportions? Sooooo not cool.

* * * * * *

On her continuing journey to chronicle the night's oddness Layla runs across "Monty." He holds her cherry hostage and she gets wet in a barn.

"Do you know the secret to Halloween?" Monty said as Layla drifted past his makeshift bar. He was carefully pouring out a bright blue liquid from his shaker, drawing it further and further up and away from the glass as it filled, not a drop spilled. He wasn't sure how he'd ended up on a hay ride with a bunch of freaks earlier, but he'd quickly navigated back to his post at the makeshift bar. "It's all about sex. Not just any sex. Irresponsible teenaged sex. Look at that woman over there. I'd bet money she's a fucking accountant or office manager or some other asshole job. Couple of kids; husband who's packing on weight. Likely gets ten minutes of missionary a couple times a month, between PTA meetings and obsessing over the neighbours lawn. But come Halloween, and she's here in her little Swiss Heidi outfit, with the skirt up to her thighs and tits in the tightest pushup bra she can find." He handed her the drink, garnished with an orange wheel. The mocktail sign was still up, but the bottles of non-alcoholic liquid looked a bit different.

"Can you guess why?"

Layla's eyes shifted from one side to another, completely confused as to when she wound up in this particular conversation. And why was he handing her a drink? She eyed it, but it mostly looked like blue Kool-Aid. A sip of it had it mostly tasting like blue Kool-Aid too. There was something off about it, though. It didn't have that telltale burn of alcohol so she wasn't exactly sure what it was. "Because everyone wants to be a pornstar but can't admit it and most guys fucking blow at sex despite thinking they are total studs?" That's what she had read on the internet anyway. She sipped the drink again, shrugged and then drank half of it down. It wasn't bad. Just sorta weird. Besides, she was thirsty.

"Nope. This is yearning for being a teenager again. When getting on a costume and getting anonymously fucked at a drunken party was just another weekend." He started building a second drink quickly, noticing how fast they went down. "All Heidi there wants is sex with someone new, but the second she takes off the mask, it's suddenly a divorce and a fight over the house and who gets the kids. But put on the slut wear and disappear, she can safely get herself bent over the big pumpkin behind the shed and drilled by some guy - or girl," Monty amended. "and pretend that no one will ever know. That's the secret to Halloween. And why you should avoid old people." He placed another drink beside her.

She raised an eyebrow, obviously unconvinced. "Old people like you?" He was kinda old. Not that old. Still young enough to not be gross and traumatizing when naked. Oh Jesus, why did she just put him and naked in the same thought? Layla needed something to distract herself, clearly, so she finished her first drink and reached for the second. If she was drinking then she couldn't say things that might leave her with deep psychological scars. The second drink was gone before she could notice the bite it had to it. The third didn't seem to have any bite at all and now she was reaching for the fourth. Why was she so thirsty?

"The term is mature student, thank you." Monty said, hiding the slight wince. "And we occupy a very important role here for freshmen. Most places, away from home and with access to alcohol for the first time, they end up drunk and suggestable with a room full of horny guys. Where as with us, you end up drunk and suggestable with just one horny guy." He caught her eye for a second. "I'm kidding." As he turned away for a moment to grab another bottle, Monty mouthed the words 'Oh no I'm not'.

Layla gestured to the larger party, then pointed at the bartender dude. "Technically there's a whole farm of potentially horny guys, mister mature student. So how do you single 'em out? I mean, you've got to pick one, get her away from the crowd, get her drunk...and I assume you don't wanna be interrupted so you need somewhere quiet. Like the barn. Or the corn maze. You could probably find somewhere in the corn maze that's isolated and quiet and...non-interruptable." Halfway through her fourth drink Layla finally realized it tasted sort of off in a way. It was lemonadey but not lemonadey. "Hey, what'm I drinking anyway? It tastes kinda..weird."

"A Blue Moon. A mixture of blue curacao, vodka, and lemonade. And like most things, the cherry is strictly optional." He poured out a measure of tequila into his own shot glass and drank it back reflectively, as if trying to break down the taste.

Vodka? Yeah, right. Layla brushed his response off as being a lie. There was no way he was actually feeding her alcohol. But, hey, if he wanted to mess around she could play along. "So you're trying to get me drunk but you're holding my cherry hostage? How can I be appropriately slutty as the designated chick being taken advantage of if I don't try to tie a cherry stem in a knot with my teeth?" She smirked at him and peered over his small bar area, then picked up her glass and wiggled it at him. "I think you should try that again. This time with the cherry."

He smiled as she took a sip from the drink. "As to your earlier point, here's the thing. Girls will get drunk. That is a given. We all get drunk." He pulled out a couple of bottles and flipped up at the same time. He caught them both by the bottoms on the palms of his hands, and upended a generous shot of both into the mixer. "The important thing is whether or not you're more comfortable getting drunk in the random group of horny guys that I mentioned - " He paused as he drew out the jar of cherries and pulled two out. "-or choosing to get drunk with just me. Hypothetically, of course." He tossed the cherries in the air at the same time. One made a short arc that he caught in his mouth. The other went much higher, until she lost it in the lights, and came right back down to land with a plop into the glass he'd put on the bar. With a smile, he filled the glass from the shaker.

"And one cherry. All ready to go."

She was just finishing the last drink as she considered her options. Roomful of horny guys or just one horny guy? Somehow it seemed like the odds were against her either way, actually. Layla slid the empty glass Monty's way and slid the cherry occupied blue moon back toward her. "Well, if it's a choice between you or an entire group of horny guys?" She sipped the new drink. Whoa, why did shifting a little make her waver like that? That was weird. Her equilibrium was totally off. She re-focused on Monty and took another sip. "I think I'd rather just you. Gang bangs seem really awkward and probably really uncomfortable, too. And there's only so many hands and holes and they're all needy..." What? It wasn't like she'd never seen porn before. She wavered on her feet again, then eyed her drink. "Is there really vodka in this? Oooh....I think I should find...a chair. Or something. Is everything gonna start spinnin'? 'Cause it's mostly just kinda wobbly." She grabbed the edge of the bar and focused on the man behind it. "Nope, nevermind, you're in focus. You don't look that old, y'know."

"You know, I think you're right, Let's find you somewhere to... lie down."

***

The barn was empty but dim, prompting Monty to light a few candles he'd found around the blanket on the floor near the loose stacks of hay. He smiled back at her as he placed the last one.

"That feel better?"

"Mm...the ground stopped moving. Didn't anyone ever tell it that it wasn't supposed to move like that?" Layla was laying on the blanket, arms out to the sides as if it would help steady her, and her eyes were closed. Getting the world to sit still was so much easier with her eyes closed.

"Oh, sometimes it's better when the world moves." Monty said, kneeling down and starting to move forward on hands and knees over her supine form.

Brow furrowing in confusion, Layla propped herself up on her elbows. When she opened her eyes she saw him crawling up over her. Her heart jumped up into her throat. "Um..." She bit her lip, not entirely sure what was about to happy. Well, no, she could definitely tell what was going to happen. But did she want it to? How do you know you're gay if you've never even kissed a guy? she thought, eyes tracking his movements. He was so close. Her eyes flicked between his eyes and his lips. Oh shit...

"Here, let me show you." Kane said, their mouths almost touching as she slowly edged back. He was so intently focused he didn't noticed her foot tip over one of the candles.

She was close, ready, as he bored her down and tilted his head to kiss her.

That's when the alarm went off, and the sprinkler system went off, dousing the barn in water.

Cold water showered down on the pair of them. "Ah!" Layla half pushed him off her and half scooted down to hide under him. That was a flawed plan because a second later he was off her and running to save himself from the wetness. "Bastard," she swore and went scrambling for shelter. On the bright side, the water definitely helped the world not move in ways it wasn't supposed to. If this was being drunk she was never drinking again.

* * * * * *

Later on, after mostly recovering from her time in the barn, Layla finds the person she's really been searching for...and possibly winds up with even more psychological trauma as a result.

The corn maze was a very interesting structure indeed. It drew Sarah's, or rather Little Red Riding Hood's, attention from a distance, curious to see what it was, and once she realized that it was a maze she was curious as to what was inside, if she could navigate her way through it. There didn't seem to be any one around, which was a pity, because it left her no one to play with. She walked idly through the maze, one hand brushing against the side of one of the walls as she did so, whistling some random melody as she strolled along and took everything in.

Layla had been searching for Sarah since she had run into Amara who had decided there was possibly magical whatever at work here. The idea of Sarah with a whip and not being Sarah was a little...unnerving possibly. During her search she had taken pictures of just about everyone to help figure out who was to blame for all this. Those blue moons she'd had before were totally messing with her ability to focus, though. Layla spotted the red hood of Sarah's cloak disappear into the corn maze while snapping a picture of someone but Layla was still a fair bit away. By the time she stumbled over to the maze's entrance she couldn't see any sign of Sarah. There was, however, the faint sound of whistling. "Sarah?" she called hesitantly and stepped into the maze. Great, now which way did she choose to go?"

At the sound of someone else's voice, Sarah perked up, turning around to face the beginning of the maze. She wasn't that far into it so once she'd rounded one corner she could look straight ahead and see the entrance. A girl with a black wig stood there, presumably the same person whose voice she'd just heard calling out. She frowned at her, peering at Layla from underneath her hood. "You're not the big bad wolf." She looked over her shoulder back down the way she'd just come as she said that, then back at Layla expectantly. Her own focus may have been slightly impaired by the drinks that flirty bartender had given her earlier in the evening.

"Uh...no. No I'm not." Please don't try to slay me, please don't try to slay me. She was suddenly really wishing Ginger Snap was around here. She had slain big ass mythological things before. With others, but still. Layla would have liked her presence here. Unless she was also nuts. That...would've been less ideal than her absence. Sobriety also would have been awesome right now. "I'm pretty sure we're wolf free, actually."

Raising an eyebrow, Sarah frowned a little. "Why would you assume that, pray tell?" It was the wolf that she had to watch out for, she'd been told; he had to be around somewhere, maybe in hiding, they couldn't be sure. "That would good be good, were it true." A little more at ease now, she strolled leisurely towards Layla, the heels of her boots clicking against the ground, her cloak opening as she walked to show her whip hanging on her side. "So, tell me. Who are you, then, if you're not a wolf, hmm?"

Holy shit. Sarah totally looked like she was ready to lay the fucking smack down out. It was kinda hot but she was a little scary in a way, too. Layla reached up and rubbed the back of her neck. Maybe de-whipping her wasn't such a great idea. If Sarah didn't remember who she was then how did Layla manage to get her to hand over a whip? "Layla. Your grandmother sent me," she lied effortlessly and hoped it worked. "She heard you were coming and wanted you to be safe. Two people are safer out here than one."

She kept walking towards Layla in a calm fashion. "Oh, really? That was ever so thoughtful of her, sending me a friend to play with." Sarah grinned at her, stopping to stand a few feet in front of Layla. She sized up the girl in the black wig, then smiled at her. "My, what pretty eyes you have, Layla." She tilted her head to one side, concentrating on something. "Have we met before? How do you know my grandmother?" The girl wasn't familiar to her at all but she didn't seem to pose any threat to her. In fact, she was pretty cute, and Sarah was enjoying playing with her.

What pretty eyes? Wasn't that the gateway to Bad Fucking Things? So fucking screwed, so fucking screwed, fuck, fuck, fuck.... Where did she know her grandmother from? Where the hell do you know old ladies from anyway? She racked her brain but it was a bit slower to respond than usual. "We've got a vegetable garden. My mom gives your grandma some of our excess stuff and your grandma sends us some of her baked stuff sometimes. But, uh, I'm not sure if we've met before. Maybe, uh, in passing? Or something. I dunno." She was squirming inwardly but outwardly Layla only seemed to be thinking about the questions posed to her. She didn't even shift from foot to foot like she really wanted to right now. There was something sort of predatory about the way Sarah looked. It would've been hotter if she wasn't possibly crazy in the bad way.

She just nodded to whatever Layla said, not really listening too intently. Instead she was staring at the other girl, a thin smile on her face as she did so. "And does your mother know that you're out this late at night? Aren't you afraid of the wolf as well?" Moving her cloak to one side, Sarah revealed the whip, then took it out with one hand. "But fret not, Layla. I will protect the both of us, if necessary." She gripped the whip handle tightly, idly running her thumb along the coiled up portion of the weapon. "I will keep you safe. Though I think the safest place is in the middle of this maze, which is why I am here. Come, let me show you." Not waiting for an answer, she reached out and took Layla's hand, tugging on it and motioning for her to follow her into the maze.

Did that just happen? When Layla was tugged off her feet by the cold hand pulling on her own she had her answer. Why yes, she totally had her answer. "Why's the middle the safe part? And why are you using a whip to protect yourself? Aren't there better weapons?" This whole being led by the hand thing was strange. Layla probably could have pulled her hand out of Sarah's but she wasn't sure how well that would go over. Or if she would manage to not fall on her ass from the sudden change in direction right now. Under normal conditions she wouldn't have even really considered pulling away. She supposed that said something about the difference between Sarah and Indiana Riding Hood over here. Layla followed along, eyeing the whip and Sarah intermittently.

"Because, silly, wolves can't find their way through a maze. They're much too dim for that. No, they're all just fangs and claws, wanting to tear pretty things like you and I to shreds, and we can't have that." Sarah paused, looking over at Layla, tilting her head slightly to one side again as she studied her face. "My, you really are quite fetching, don't you know? The wolf would just eat you up, I know it." She smirked a little, then squeezed Layla's hand and started off again. "Come now, we mustn't waste any more time."

Seriously? Was this conversation actually taking place? Had she passed out and this was a dream? Was this what happened when alcohol got involved? Layla's eyes were just about popping out of her head by now, or so it felt like it. "I'm really not that pretty." She was already flushed from the chill in the air combined with whatever she'd drank, but now she was turning a much darker pink. Fetching? In her she-mullet Joan Jet wig? "The wolf would totally overlook me. Besides, I'm like all bones, no meat. Why eat me? And, uh, if wolves can't find their way through mazes why do we need to be in the middle? Shouldn't we be safe anywhere in the maze? And how long are we going to be sitting in the maze, exactly?" Please don't say until dawn.

Sarah came to a full stop again, letting go of Layla's hand and turning to face her. "Your eyes, dear, I thought we'd covered that?" She grinned, staring deeply into Layla's eyes. "You mustn't discount yourself so quickly, my pretty. Not only your eyes, but your skin, so fair. And those cheekbones..." She reached up, brushing the side of her finger against Layla's cheek for a moment. Almost as soon as she'd put it there, she removed her hand, then walked slowly, lazily around Layla in a circle, in an almost predatory fashion. "No, the wolf would be absolutely mad for you, I can promise you that."

As she walked behind her, she placed her empty hand out again, the other still holding the whip, and lightly placed it on Layla's hip. "Hmm, not all bones, I wouldn't say." She brushed her hand across Layla's back as she slowly paced around to face Layla again, removing her hand once she'd reached the other hip, continuing to address the other girl as she walked. "You make some sense, I suppose, although I must admit I am curious to see what's at the center of the maze." Sarah stopped, directly in front of her again and smirking mischievously. "Aren't you the least bit curious, hmm?" She let that hang out there for a few seconds before answering Layla's other question. "Why, we must stay until the wolf is gone, dearie, of course." Either they would dispatch him or some brave hunter would, then they'd be safe. "You're not in a rush to leave me, now, are you?"

The hand sliding across her back from one hip to the next turned Layla bright red and froze her on the spot. She just...she had no idea what to do. Sarah was being very...uh...what was the word? Hell, Layla couldn't think of the word but Sarah was being something and it made Layla feel remarkably like she wasn't wearing clothes at the moment. "Leave you?" She swallowed hard. "No, I-I don't want to leave you. I, uh, I'm not sure there's a middle to the maze. I think it goes around and through and comes out another end or something. So, uh, there might not be anything in the middle, you know? Just...more maze." Layla nearly asked if Sarah was flirting with her but managed at the last second to realize that would have been a really bad idea.

She smiled warmly at Layla as the other girl said she didn't want to leave her. "Good, good, my pet, I would be ever so lonely without anyone to keep me company." Putting her hand through the loop of the whip, she let it hang on her wrist and reached out with both of her hands, taking both of Layla's in hers. "My, what soft, warm hands you have, my dear." Sarah rubbed her thumbs along the back of the blonde-disguised-as-black haired girl's hands, moving in little circles, clockwise then counterclockwise, over and over. "And your line would be 'the better to hold yours with,' I do believe." She gave Layla a wink. "Maybe you're right, maybe there really is nothing in the middle. It's really about the journey, not the destination, hmm? Enjoying yourself along the way, and I must say, I'm enjoying you." That should probably answer any questions Layla may have had about whether or not Little Red Riding Hood!Sarah was flirting with her.

It was physically impossible for Layla to get any redder than she already was. Despite that, she was sure her skin was going to start peeling off from the heat of the blood rushing to her face. She kept watching Sarah's thumbs move over her skin like a hypnotic suggestion. There were so many conflicting reactions going on. On the one hand, Sarah was acting more like the wolf than red riding hood. On the other hand, she was totally flirting with Layla. The jury was out on whether that was a good thing or not. Layla liked the contact but hated the attention. She shifted from foot to foot, not pulling away but clearly uncomfortable with the whole situation. She totally needed a way out of this. On the bright side, she was pretty sure how completely freaked out she now was was helping to sober her up. "So shouldn't we be journeying?"

Oh, how Sarah was enjoying this. Or, rather, how the new persona currently inhabiting Sarah was enjoying it. Layla really was precious, and seeing her blush so and nervous at their contact was a source of great pleasure to her. Holding her hands for another few seconds while maintaining her unwavering gaze, Sarah finally nodded. "But of course, you are right. It is cold, and if we simply stand in one place like this we will surely freeze, won't we?" Slowly, she let their hands drop down, sliding hers apart from Layla's until they were separate once again. "After all, if were we to get too cold we'd have no choice but to cuddle up, for warmth, of course. I do have an extra big cloak, just in case." Another wink, then a swoosh of said cloak and she was pacing away again, glancing over her shoulder to make sure Layla was following. "So, Layla. Layla, Layla, Layla, such a pretty name as well, just roooolls off the tongue, yes?"

The minute Sarah turned around Layla shoved her hands in her pockets. She could claim it was to keep them warm if she had to but mostly she wanted to make sure they were clear of Sarah and her apparent love of making her squirm. "Yeah, that's me. I'm all about rolling," she said as she started off after Sarah. Layla tried to leave more than enough room between herself and the billowing cloak. If creepy ass riding hood was going to try to eat her for dinner Layla wanted enough notice to try to react. Running was always a fantastic reaction. And this entire thing gave her the creepiest feeling. Getting that whip away was going to be next to impossible with predator Sarah on the loose.

A thought occurred to Layla and she cringed. She could always distract Sarah. And there was a wide open obvious way she could do it. But Layla wasn't sure she wanted to go there. What if real Sarah was still in there somewhere watching? Hello, awkward.

Sarah frowned, looking over her shoulder at Layla, confused by her phrasing. "You roll around on the ground?" Shaking her head, the red clad figure kept walking forward, sighing quietly. She was quickly growing bored of her present surroundings; the wolf was after her, she was sure of it, but where was he? Playing with Layla had given her some amount of fun but that was losing its appeal. She crossed her arms and was about to address Layla again when she heard the sound of a wolf howling off in the distance. "Hark! Layla! Did you hear that?" Unfurling her whip, Sarah clenched the handle tightly, letting the lash fall to the ground, ready to strike if needed. The sound had likely been a Hallowe'en sound effects cd or some such device, nevertheless it had spooked her but good.

"Hark?" Layla couldn't help making a face that clearly conveyed that she thought Sarah was nuts. Which she was definitely coming around to thinking. She didn't care if it was magic, she was totally off her rocker. Aaaaaand now she was brandishing a whip. Jesus fuck. "I didn't hear anything." Which she hadn't, being too preoccupied with crazy-chick-with-whip. "You said the wolf couldn't find it's way through the maze, though, right? So there's not really anything to worry about anyway." Layla approached Sarah somewhat cautiously. As she drew closer she reached out and gently guided Sarah's hand further down to her side. Layla's touch was light, mostly fingertips, and slipped from the back of Sarah's hand down her fingers until her hand was covered with Layla's and the blonde was standing no more than about six inches away. "The wolf can't get us here. We're safe, remember? You promised me I was safe with you in here. So you don't need this right now and you don't want to hurt a harmless cat that pops out around a corner instead."

It wasn't that far from the mark, and actually might even be true. Little Red Riding Hood was a fable, after all, and Sarah's steampunk twist on the same was different yet again. She didn't belong in the real world, yet there she was, in the flesh, or at least in Sarah's borrowed flesh. Her eyes remained wide open, still grasping the whip, and she twitched at Layla's touch at first. The other girl's words were comforting, however, and calmed her down somewhat. "Yes, the wolf can't, we're safe." The howling still had unhinged her further, obviously, and all previous distractions from toying with Layla were forgotten at the moment. Biting her lip, she turned to face Layla, who was standing much closer now. "We're safe, yes. You're right. I am safe. You are safe." She managed a smile, her grip on the whip loosening. "Two is more safe then one, yes?" She looked down to Layla's hand over her own, leaning closer to the other girl a little, the scent of alcohol from her breath noticeable. She was safe with her, the closer the safer seemed to make sense.

"Yes, two is safer than one," Layla agreed quietly, nose wrinkling at the boozy smell of Sarah's breath. That was not attractive. Normally she would have been somewhat uncomfortable with the proximity but focusing on the need to keep Sarah from flipping out and whipping someone to death or something really helped. She could feel the other girl's grip on the whip's handle slacken, which came as a great relief. If she tried to pull the whip out of Sarah's hand it might just set her on edge again. Without that as an option Layla instead shifted her hand around so it was holding Sarah's from the other side of the handle. If it wasn't for the whip in the middle they could have been holding hands properly. Layla tried not to think about it. "See? You're safe here with me, so take a deep breath and relax, okay? Everything's fine." Her head tilted a little and Layla bit her lip, realizing just how close they were. "Don't you wanna find out what's in the middle with me?"

It was true, whipping things was definitely a Bad Idea, even if there wasn't really all that much around them but corn. That thing was long, and in a frenzy who knew how well Sarah!Hood could control her backswing, so even Layla might've been at risk. She wasn't thinking of whipping anything now, however, and instead was comforted by Layla's words and actions, safe again for the time being. Moving one finger on the whip handle to stroke the other girl's fingers a little, she nodded. "Safe," she repeated. "Here with you." She took a deep breath, inhaling deeply, her corset moving accordingly, then exhaled slowly, eyes closed. When she opened her eyes, she nodded in response, then leaned in closer to Layla, moving her head to one side as well, and then rested her head on the taller girl's shoulder. Pausing there for a second, she then pulled back and spoke. "Take me." Then she tugged on Layla's hand, heading back into the maze. "Take me to the middle."

For a second there Layla's panic button got slammed down and her stomach jumped into her chest because it almost looked like Sarah was going to kiss her. Wouldn't that be a huge mess. Not that Layla was exactly against kissing Sarah - though she tried to simply not think about it most of the time - but this was not exactly the sort of situation she wanted to explain to a girl who was very likely not gay later on. Of course, the words 'take me' didn't help Layla's panic because, wow, those had a very clear signal they sent. The amendment to take Sarah to the middle only seemed to ease some of Layla's anxiety, but not much. The blonde eventually nodded and reached over with her free hand to try to slide the whip out of Sarah's grasp. The purpose, of course, was to remove the obstacle so Layla could hold the brunette's hand properly. It was better for leading her. That was Layla's excuse anyway. "Okay. I think it's this way." Layla leaned a little toward where their path came to another turn and waited for Sarah to hopefully follow her.

It really would have been a gigantic mess indeed. It would have been Sarah's first kiss - though maybe not for Sarah!Hood - without her knowing it at the time. Not that there was anything wrong with kissing Layla, far from it, but it wouldn't have been her. Sarah!Hood continued to hold Layla's hand, and didn't interfere when the other girl reached over to take the whip. She just held her other hand tighter now that there was nothing in between to stop that from happening, and instead just smirked at Layla and nodded down to the whip before speaking. "Be gentle now, yes?" She added a wink and, clearly more at ease again now, followed the other girl, walking closely beside her now.

Sniffing just a little, she murmured and spoke again. "Mm, what is that scent? I'm afraid it's somewhat intoxicating..." She leaned in, nudging her nose against Layla's neck, which was hard to do while walking but she was going pretty slow now. It was a nice scent, nothing like the smell of liquor lingering on herself.

Being sniffed was something of a new experience for Layla. It was behavior she usually put down to only being committed by crazy people. Realistically, she wasn't being proven wrong here. "Uh...pepper, ginger, vanilla, black tea and, um...some other stuff? It's called White Rabbit." Layla had the whip in one hand, its tail dragging along the ground behind them as they walked, and Sarah's hand in the other which left the blonde awkwardly trying to figure out how to avoid sniffing when she didn't have a hand to bat at the brunette with. Then again, trying to get her away might just encourage her.

"White Rabbit..." Sarah!Hood echoed. She inhaled her aroma once more and then leaned back, smiling. "Very nice, Layla. Smelling like that, any boy you set your sights on had better watch out. Or girl." Laughing, she moved back so she wasn't all up in Layla's neck, but she still kept a hold of her hand, swinging them back and forth ever so slightly as they strolled through the maze. "So, Laaaaaayla, tell me about yourself. You know about my big, bad wolf, what's your wolf, hmmm?"

Mention of boys she might set her sights on nearly had Layla rolling her eyes...right up until Sarah added that 'or girl' bit. Now she was blushing furiously again. Sure, she was trying to ignore it but that didn't mean she was all that good at it. "I don't have a big bad wolf, sorry. I'm pretty wolf-less." There was definitely nothing Layla was scared enough of to want to carry a weapon to protect herself from it. In the end, you could almost always turn and run like hell.

"No?" Sarah arched an eyebrow at that, readjusting the hood of her cloak a little with her free hand as they walked along. "Nothing that goes 'bump' in the night that makes you jump, hmm?" At the word 'bump' she lightly tapped Layla's hip with her own. "It doesn't have to be a wolf literally, darling, you know." She looked over at her and smirked a little. "Or maybe our Layla doesn't have any fears, I suppose that could be the case. Certainly nothing will be coming after you while you're holding that." Presuming she knew how to use the whip anyway, that was.

There had to be things Layla feared. Everyone feared something, right? Only Layla couldn't think of anything she feared. Without any real answer to give the person apparently living in Sarah's body right now she chose to go a more classic route and shrugged saying, "The only thing you've got to fear is fear itself, after all. Why be scared of things when they're probably not really going to hurt you? Everyone dies, everyone gets injured, everyone gets rejected or fails or heartbroken." She shrugged again. "Fear of it is the only thing that gives it power over you." Maybe she would be satisfied with that. Hopefully, anyway.

Sarah nodded, duly impressed. "Very well spoken, my friend." She looked over at Layla, then with her free hand tucked back some of her own hair behind her ear. "Hmmm, but I bet you're more often the heart breaker than the heart broken, yes?" They came to an intersection in the maze and she chose to go left, tugging on Layla's hand for her to follow her that way. "Are we almost at the middle of the maze, do you think?" she idly wondered, looking around. Everything looked the same, of course, since it was, well, a maze. "I do so want to see the middle of it now."

"I have no idea. I dunno how big it is, actually. And I don't break hearts, for the record." What was with this belief that Layla was some sort of foxy ladykiller or something? Mankiller? Whatever. Whatever it was pseudoSarah thought Layla was, she wasn't. Even as she followed the brunette through the corn maze she couldn't help asking, "What is your fixation on me being some sort of magnetic for people of all genders anyway? Breaking hearts and setting sights on people and all that. Seriously, it's not a thing I do. Like, none of it is."

Sarah!Hood shrugged, still grinning a little. Head games were clearly here thing, or so it would seem. "Truthfully? I've not seen anyone like you before, I suppose." It was true, Sarah!Hood hadn't, not in her world at least. Perhaps it was some of her own fascination seeping through in her actions and words. Layla really was attractive, at least to her, and to her (somewhat twisted) mind that was enough to justify her actions. Plus, well, she was probably a bit of a jerk. "Not all genders then, is what you're saying? And no one seldom tries to do that but, well. It happens." Making another turn for them both, she squinted ahead. "You have not answered me. Do we near the middle?"

"I told you, I don't know. Maybe." Layla ignored the comment about genders. She was so not having this conversation with normal Sarah, nevermind bewitched Sarah. On the bright side she had gotten the whip away. Layla flicked it back and forth as it trailed behind them, making the tail of the whip move in a rather serpentine squiggle over the ground. They turned another corner and the girls found themselves walking into a somewhat large, circular clearing. "And I guess we found the middle." She looked over at Sarah. "So are we hiding out here until the wolf is taken care of?"

Before she could reply, they had reached the middle, and Sarah!Hood forgot all about Layla for a moment. She let go of her and walked into the very middle of the maze, looking skyward and then all around her as she turned in a circle. There didn't seem to be anything special about the middle, however. It was very anticlimactic. "...I thought there would be more." It had seemed so important to come here, to overcome the maze, while fending off the wolf, in search of something, yet... there was no purpose to it. Frowning, she shook her head, taking down her hood and revealing Sarah's mane of brown hair. "I do not know why I am here." Hands on her hips, she appeared almost as if she were sulking.

Oh, that was useful. Layla resisted narrowing her eyes but only just barely. Why oh why did the crazy chick have to be crazy? "You knew there might not be anything here. Maybe the point is to get all the way through so I can get you to your grandmother's house?" Layla took advantage of her hands both being free and coiled the whip up in loops again. She undid her belt, pulled it partway off, threaded it through the looped up whip and then put it back on. At least this way it would be hard for Sarah to get it off of her. With that taken care of finally, she walked back up to the pouting Indiana Red. She reached out for one of Sarah's hands and tugged on it. "C'mon, let's see what's out the other side."

Frowning as she thought on what Layla had said, the girl nodded without a word. She took another look around and then put her hands back up, pulling her hood back up and down over her face, leaving just her mouth visible. After taking Layla's hand in her own, she took a few more steps and then stopped once again. Her arm moved up, still holding onto Layla's hand, then it slipped free to fall limp to her side, her other arm on her other side hanging in the same fashion. Then without a word she sank forward to her knees, followed by slumping forward face first into the ground, rolling onto her side on impact, laying on her back and looking straight up. Her hood still covered her eyes but her mouth was slightly open and, while she was still visibly breathing, Sarah wasn't making a sound.

This was a whole new kind of panic. It was like Sarah had just gone to sleep, just drifted off uncontrollably. "Sarah?" Layla was crouched down beside the brunette within moments. Sarah was breathing which was good but Layla didn't know what to do. She pulled the hood back so she could see the other girl's face, not that it told her much. Then she resorted to about the only thing she could think of. She grabbed Sarah by the shoulders and shook her. "Sarah? C'mon, wake up, Sarah."

Her eyes had been closed at first as she lay there, awkwardly sprawled out on the ground. She didn't hear Layla calling her at first, but when she started shaking her by the shoulders it roused her. Squinting as she opened her eyes, then rubbing them with the back of her hands, Sarah slowly came around, though she had no idea where she was at first. "'M awake already, there's no school today, it's a weekend, I can sleep in..." She blinked and then rubbed her eyes a few more times. Was that Layla holding her? Rub rub rub. And wait, she was in her corset and stuff. Why was Layla in bed with her while she was in her corset? Immediately she thought she would feel her cheeks burn up but they were actually cold. It was only then she realized they were outside. "...why is there corn everywhere?" This was highly confusing.

Eyes shifting from one side to the other, Layla told her in a hesitant tone of voice, "Because we're in the corn maze? And that's what they make those out of, giant stalks of corn growing outta the ground. Hard to have one without the corn. Um...what just happened? Do you feel okay?" Are you still crazy? She seemed a little confused for her Indiana Red alter ego but Layla couldn't really be sure either way.

Sitting up, Sarah looked around, still not sure why they were in a corn maze, but she'd just have to roll with it. She wasn't in a hurry to get to her feet, not just yet while she was so disoriented. Speaking of which, she raised a hand to her head, wincing a little as she touched it. "Ouch." It was a little sore and headache-y from hitting the ground, though that could also be a side effect from whatever mojo had been possessing her for the last several hours, not to mention the drinks she'd had, who knew? "Y-yeah, I think I am. I was going to the party, and then we... then I..." As she thought back on what had happened it all came to her. It wasn't her, she realized that much, but she'd been taken over by some crazy, sadistic, steampunk Red Riding Hood. And Layla and found her and... oh. Oh no. What had she done? "I'm not sure, it's a little hazy." She really didn't want to get into that now, Layla must hate her, holy crap. Sarah wanted to cry, right there and then, how could that have happened? Please oh please don't hate her, Layla.

Shaking her head, she rubbed her eyes some more, wiping away what could've been tears if she wasn't careful but she tried to hide them and play it off as tiredness or something. "That was weird, I... I don't know what's going on." That much was true, who or what had done that to her? And was she the only one or had anyone else been affected? She turned to Layla, raising her eyebrows questioningly at her. "Are you ok, Layla? Did I... did anything happen to you?"

"Nah, I'm fine," Layla said, brushing the entire thing off as if it was nothing. If Sarah didn't remember how she was a total fucking nutjob Layla wasn't going to be the one to tell her. "I mean, I might still be a little drunk thanks to, uh...I think he was the mountie? Not for Halloween, for real. Anyway, not important, you were nuts and had a whip. Helped sober me up real fucking quick." She even grinned, trying to inject as much lightheartedness into the situation as humanly possible. "Just...curious, do you usually have a thing for the middles of mazes and get really disappointed when it's boring or was that just Indiana Red? 'Cause if it's you too, hate to spoil the surprise but," she shrugged a shoulder and gestured to the clearing around them, "this is all you get."

It was all pretty fresh in her mind, unfortunately, as if she'd witnessed it all second hand. It was sort of like it had been a dream, with the only difference being it hadn't actually been her, dream!Sarah or otherwise, who was controlling her, but this completely different entity altogether. But it had been her body, and it had been Layla she'd interacted with. Sarah felt terrible but if Layla said she was fine, well, she wasn't going to break down or get into it now, she couldn't. She smiled slightly at the mention of the mountie, though that didn't sound like Garrison to her, which kind of answered her unasked question about other people being affected, possibly anyway. "Indiana Red? And no, I don't have a thing for them, or get disappointed when it's boring, I mean, it's never boring with you, promise, I..." She wasn't going to let herself cry but she did let herself give Layla a spontaneous hug. It was the best thing she could think of other than an apology, which would be tantamount to saying she remembered what'd happen when she didn't want to, not yet, maybe not ever. It was all kind of complicated and made her already aching head ache even more, so it was easiest just to hug her. That was more than enough.

The hug took Layla entirely by surprise. Her eyes went wide and she got sort of awkward and stiff for a second until the initial shock wore off. That wasn't to say she wasn't still incredibly awkward when she wrapped her arms around Sarah to hug her back. There was even an unsure little pat on her back going on and everything. "Uh...are you gonna cry?" She had no idea why else she would spontaneously find herself with an armful of girl, to be honest. "'Cause if you are, I should warn you that I'm really, really not useful with crying girls. Aside from, well, this. This is all I got, kid." She tried to sound vaguely reassuring but she pretty much failed. "I'm way better with calming you down when you're crazy than I am with crying girls. Seriously."

Sarah shook her head no while still clinging to Layla, not wanting to speak because her voice might have cracked a little or something. The pat on the back was reassuring though, in Layla's own way of comforting her friend, and after another second or two she slowly pulled away from her. "No, nah, I'm ok. Just a little shook up, I guess?" It was quite the mind job, knowing that someone or something else had taken over your body and had been messing with someone you cared about like that. Especially in the way that they'd made Sarah act, all flirting and teasing, making Layla so uncomfortable. What bugged her even more was that, well, some of the things she'd said and done while she was possessed or whatever were... it was all confusing. She was going to have to sit down and think about things at any rate, it seemed, things she'd put off thinking about for some time now.

Back to the present, she frowned a little, afraid to ask what she was about to but doing it anyway. "You said I was crazy, was I... was I really that bad?" She sort of knew the answer to that question but was once again checking with Layla to make sure she knew it wasn't really her and that they were cool. Hopefully.

"You were kinda creepy, yeah," Layla replied a bit lightly. She tried to make it seem like it was no big deal because in the end it wasn't. Sarah was normal again, no one had been accused of being the big bad wolf, it was fine. "Kinda all with the 'what big eyes you have' vibe. I was a little worried you were gonna think I was the big bad wolf and brandish your whip at me. Oh, speaking of." Layla undid her belt and threaded it out of the coiled up whip, which she then handed over to Sarah. "I was worried that since people were acting really weird and you had a whip that you might do something you'd regret later. That's how I ended up in here with you. But anyway, I got it away from you eventually. I guess you're safe to have it back now, though."

She really had been, it was true, but Layla seemed far from upset or freaking out about it, so that was good. Sarah smiled at her, readjusting the hood of her cloak a little as she listened, then raised her eyebrows as she wondered what Layla was doing. Was she undoing her belt and... oh, the whip. "Right, no, that was a great idea, Layla, thank you. I really would feel even worse if I'd hurt someone else because of this whole... whatever that was." Hurting Layla had been bad enough, thank you very much. She smiled when she heard Layla had come to look out for her, though, that had extremely sweet of her. "You came to look out for me?" There may have been a little blushing and, yeah, she felt a little better just hearing that part. Taking the whip carefully out of Layla's hand, she hung it back onto a loop in her corset, then tugged her cloak around her again. "We should probably be heading back, I guess, people might wonder what's been going on and where we were."

"Yeah, of course I came looking for you." It was no big deal, right? That's what her tone said anyway. Layla wasn't going to mention that Sarah had been the first person she'd thought of when Amara had decided people weren't just getting into the spirit of things. No one needed to know that part. "You had an actual weapon and all." Layla stood back up and held her hands out to Sarah to help her up. "So, um, I don't actually know the way outta here. I mean, sure I got here but I wasn't exactly paying attention to the maze as much as trying to figure out how to de-whipify you so, uh...we need to get out of here the hard way. And if anyone asks we'll just tell them we got lost in here."

Sarah nodded at the logic there. Having a weapon did make her a priority and all, so that made perfect sense, but part of her felt a little... she wasn't sure, warm and fuzzy maybe, that Layla had thought of her at all and had come for her. That was kind of awesome. But she didn't need to gush about it or anything, that'd just be weird, right? She took the blonde's hands and got to her feet with a little oomph. "Thank you, ma'am." She squinted and seemed to only now key in on the fact that Layla was in costume too. "I like your costume too, though you look better blonde, I think." She wasn't quite sure why she said that but it was true! Er. "It's ok, everything seems to be ok now, no hurry, and exactly, we just got lost, that's all they need to know." No need to tell them about how predatory she'd been when possessed, because holy crap, no one needed to know that.

"Thanks, I think. You've ruined my dreams of having a black she-mullet of my own, though. Seriously, I'm gonna cry about that later. With a giant thing of ice cream." The odd sound of scurrying distracted Layla and she begrudgingly looked for the source of the sound. It turned into a faint rustling sound. Maybe Layla didn't want to know what was hanging out in the corn out there. It could be something worse than just rats. Like decaying rats. Right, stress was not good for the whole dead things walking around thing she likes to avoid. "I think I'd be awesome with a she-mullet, though. I might need to go get a hair cut and a bottle of dye just to spite you and prove you wrong now."

Laughing at her exaggerated response, Sarah shook her head. "What kind of ice cream, though?" That was an important question, of course, because depending on the flavour she just might have to share it with a certain technopath. She watched Layla looking around, not having heard any rustling herself, and took a gaze around the area herself. "I think we go... this way?" Sarah wasn't tugging Layla along through the maze like her possessed self had previously done, she just suggested a possible route and waited for the blonde in disguise to agree or disagree. "Aww, no, don't!" was her initial response to the she-mullet suggestion, as Sarah responded without really thinking about what she'd said. "I mean, it's your hair and all, I guess." She shrugged, whatevs. It wasn't like she really, really liked her hair or anything, pfft, as if.

Not really sure which way was better than the other, Layla shrugged and headed off toward the suggested opening. "Um...I think there's this limited edition Pumpkin ice cream Edy's has. Mmm... pumpkin. I might have a small fixation. And by small I mean massive and pumpkin stuff should be around way more often than just like October and November. For real. Anyway, it will be me and the like half gallon of pumpkin ice cream and the mascara mourning how you totally hate my she-mullet. I had plans for that mullet, Sarah. We were gonna start a hair metal band and do covers of Poison and Winger and shit. I was gonna have the lycra hot pants and bra look going on. It was gonna be hot. But now you won't even be a groupie because you're anti-she-mullet. God, who am I going to find to replace you now?!"

Sarah followed her in the same direction, pulling her cloak around her as she walked beside the other girl. "Hmm, I don't think I've ever tried that before, you know. Pumpkin ice cream, it sounds like it might be good." Fall was the time for everything pumpkin related, it seemed. Pumpkin spice lattes and drinks, ice cream, donuts, it all seemed to only come out for that brief period of the year. She giggled at the mention of mascara and mourning. "Stop it, you! I don't hate it, I just..." The mention of the lycra hot pants and bra outfit made her pause for a second, as she pictured Layla in the same (with her regular blonde hair, thanks!) and, well. Layla had her happy places, Sarah just might have found one of her own right there. "It... maybe it'd work all together, I don't know. I haven't seen it, and if there was more to look at that the hair-" Er. "With the hair, I mean." Did that make her a groupie then? And even though she knew they were just joking around, she didn't like the idea of being replaced for some reason. "Nah, I'll stick it out. I'm one of those die hard fans, you know?"

Layla smirked, the look oddly more charming than sarcastic for once. "Die hard, huh? So you'll follow us around to all our shows and be waiting backstage at the end of the set every night? And then fight off the other groupies for bragging rights of being the one that gets to leave with the band?" She very carefully did not state that she would be leaving with Layla because while they were joking it could be enough to derail the amusement factor for some people. Maybe Sarah wasn't homophobic, but there were plenty of chicks who got squicked over lesbian shit whether you were joking or not. "Does that mean we'll end up with a drawer of your underwear you leave behind in the morning?"

"Uh-huh. I'll have all of your albums, even the crappy- er, the obscure EPs, the posters, the ringtones, all of it." She nodded, committed to the whole mock band thing 100%. 110%, even. "Yup, I can be really tough when I want to be. I'm taking fencing lessons, you know." Sarah balled her hands up into two tiny, ineffectual fists, shadow boxing a little for a few seconds. "They'll never know what hit 'em." She smiled at Layla, then let her hands fall back down to her side. While she certainly wasn't homophobic, such mentions of getting to leave with Layla specifically would certainly cause profuse blushing, so that might've been for the best. The mention of her underwear did it just the same, however, and even though she was grinning as she acted not to be all bashful, Sarah's face pretty much matched the colour of her cloak. "Layla. I'd only have the one pair to leave." Who had a whole drawer of underwear with them? "Which I'd be wearing anyway, I'd put them back on, or not even take them off, or... or something!" Flustered? Who was flustered?

"But how are we going to have a collection if our groupies don't leave their underwear behind after their crazy post-show nights with the band?" Layla played the part perfectly, tone implying that it would have been a huge disaster if they lacked their trophy drawer. "Fine, fine, we'll just have to have other groupies for that. You know, dedicated ones." She nodded sagely. "A woman who is dedicated enough to leave a little something behind after a passionate night with the band." Okay maybe she shouldn't be mentioning passionate nights. Possibly a bad tactic. "Sex, drugs and rock-n-roll, Sarah!" Okay that wasn't much better. Oh well, Layla was dedicated to her part enough to not care. "I'm willing to give some leeway on the sex or the drugs but not both. You're gonna have to commit to one of them."

"Fine, fine, I guess I'll just have to buy more underwear or something." They were only kidding around after all, so she'd do her best to play the part. No promise about not blushing though, because yeah, that wasn't going to happen. Especially with the mention of passionate nights, because oh wow. Passionate nights with Layla's band, which was Layla herself? Leaving her underwear behind? Her happy place might have been getting a little bigger with each passing minute, it seemed, at the same alarming rate at which the blood was flushing to her face. "I, well, I guess..." Committing to sex? While talking about Layla? And all of this? An utterly intimidating thought, and scary, and nervous making, and... something else. Curiousity? Interest? She really didn't know what she was thinking, but it was definitely there. "I don't do drugs, so. Yeah." She couldn't say s-e-x outloud though, not at the moment at least, ohmygosh.

"Just remember, you should always leave your slutty underwear behind," Layla informed the other girl with the air of someone who knew about these things.