LAYLA BEASLEY.

A name that held such power in Seaford. It seemed like a joke or even a very large stretch, but it wasn't. Layla Beasley was just that girl. The "it girl" of Seaford.

Guys wanted to be with her and girls wanted to be her. It was sickening.

Especially for a girl like Kim Crawford.

"So, Jack do you want to hang out on Saturday?" Kim asked.

"Yeah, sure. What do you wanna do?"

"Oh, I don't know. Uh... Hey, maybe we can swing by the riverside country club for the swan's court cotillion ball or something."

Jack fell from his peg board, flat on his back and quickly stood up.

"I am not going to any ball. I hate tuxedos. I can't dance." Jack scoffed, "Oh, and one more thing... I am a dude. Dudes don't do cotillions."

But they soon found out that Milton and Jerry were both going and apparently had dorky dates to accompany them.

At school, the next day, Layla saw Kim sitting by herself in the cafeteria.

She furrowed her brows and joined the girl.

"Any reason you're sitting alone?" Layla asked.

"Any reason you're sitting with me?"

"Because you're sitting by yourself, but if you wish to be alone—"

"Okay!" Kim called, "I'm sorry. It's just... the cotillion is Saturday and the guy I asked said he didn't want to go."

Layla sat back down, "Jack?"

"How'd you know?"

"He told me."

Layla and Jack had become close. The two of them training in the dojo after hours. It was strange that the most popular and seemingly powerful girl at Seaford was hanging out with a couple of karate kids was strange, but it wasn't something to look down upon. She made karate kids look cool.

"We both know that Jack wouldn't know a good thing if he spilt it in half." Layla smiled, "Don't worry too much about it."

"Easy for you to say." Kim sighed.

"What do you mean?"

"He's obsessed with you." Kim said, "Everyone in Seaford is obsessed with you."

Layla laughed, "Yeah, I know. It's been this way for years, Kim."

"Not to be rude, but why?"

"Because..." Layla paused, "I don't know. I'm just good at being myself and likable to the masses. It's pretty easy." She said, propping her elbows on the table and popping a french fry in her mouth.

Kim gave her a soft smile and Layla sighed.

"Look, the way to get back at a guy is to show him that you don't care." Layla said, "You pretend not to care and he'll get paranoid. It's easy."

In view, Brody, some random kid that everyone knew and some despised appeared.

"Or I could ask another guy and make him jealous." Kim smiled.

"That works too."

Jack soon came over holding a piece of red velvet cake. He claimed that it was for Kim but she rejected it because she had an apple.

Layla took the cake for herself, digging into the cake as the two of them (Kim and Jack) had a conversation about the cotillion.

Brody soon approached them, calling Jack a "brochacho".

"So, uh, Brody, you're taking Kim to the cotillion?" Jack asked.

"Yeah, kinda like putting on a tuxedo and dancing the night away with my favorite lady."

"That's cute." Layla smiled, mouth full of cake, "Really sweet."

"Really?" Jack questioned, "You've been here for three seconds. How is she your favorite lady?"

"He said I'm his favorite lady." Kim scowled before smiling up at Brody.

Brody and Kim soon left the cafeteria leaving Layla and Jack alone.

"You really thought that was cute?" Jack asked.

"Yes, Jack, I did." Layla said, turning her body to face him, "And you rejecting Kim with lame excuse are not."

"They aren't lame excuses! I have valid reasons why I don't want to go to the cotillion."

"Such as?"

Layla rested her head against the palm of her hand and waited for Jack to answer.

But he wasn't going to give her the real reason. I mean, it was obvious, but he wasn't going to admit that out loud.

As repetitive as it was, Layla could make or break someone's high school (or adulthood careers) in a instant.

Ever heard of Barry Bradford?

Exactly.

"I'm just not that guy." Jack answered, "I don't dance and I don't do tuxedos."

"Come on, Jack. You'd probably look good in a tux." Layla smiled, "And you have some sort of rhythm because of how well you are with karate. I'll tell you what, I'll teach you how to dance and exchange, I'll take more karate lessons for free."

"You're doing that anyway."

"Everything's more fun when it's free isn't it?"

Layla smiled and stood up from the table, leaving Jack alone.

JACK WALKED into the dojo and found Brody and Kim practicing for the cotillion.

"What? Woah, whoa. What's going on in here?" He asked.

"Uh, we're practicing our dancing for the cotillion." Kim answered.

"Yeah, not in here you're not. This is a dojo, brochacho."

Layla soon stepped out from the back of the dojo and smiled when she saw Jack out in the lobby.

"Hey, you're here." She smiled, "I thought we were practicing later."

Jack scoffed, putting his bag down and joined Layla's side, "Practicing? There's no practice—"

"I told her Jack." Layla smiled.

Kim's phone soon went off and said that her mom had found her a dress for the cotillion. She asked if Layla wanted to tag along and she agreed. Layla told Jack that they would practice at their set time.

The two girls left the dojo and found their way on the other side of the mall.

"You seem to really like Brody." Layla said.

"Yeah, he's pretty sweet." Kim smiled, "He said I'm his favorite girl."

"I heard." Layla smiled.

"I meant to ask, did you ever find a date for the cotillion?"

"I've been asked by several guys have asked me, but they're either too scared to following through because their appending reputation would be destroyed or they just aren't the guy I'm wanting to go with."

"Guys like Jack." Kim smiled.

"Guys like Jack." Layla mocked, "No, he doesn't even want to go. I want a guy like Brody to go with, you know. A sweetheart."

Kim nodded, completely understanding where she was coming from especially after the Ricky Weaver fiasco.

On the other hand, Jack was floored. Brody had been lying about knowing karate and he was practicing his dance moves with a punching dummy.

Not that Layla was late to their practice. It was the fact that, through the grapevine, Layla had no date to the cotillion and guys were rushing her on the other side of the mall for a date.

His dance practice wasn't giving him the process he thought it was especially since the dummy had no feet, but he was putting in his all trying to dance with the thing.

The cotillion was literally in less than an hour and here Jack was, draped in a tuxedo, dancing with a dummy and still having no idea if Layla had a date or not.

The doors of the dojo opened and Jack pushed the dummy to the ground. He turned and saw Layla staring at the dummy on the ground as she was wearing her gi and black belt tied around her waist.

"Hey." Jack stretched out, "What are you doing here on a Saturday night?"

"Everyone is at the cotillion and I wanted to get some practice in." She answered, "What are you doing here on a Saturday night? Did your dummy not want to be seen in public?"

Jack looked back down at the ground and picked up the dummy and put it back against the wall.

"Well, I was hoping I could take you... to the cotillion." Jack said.

Layla smiled, placing her bag on the ground, "Why?"

"Why what?"

"Why do you want me to go to the dance with you?" She asked, "You rejected Kim after saying "dudes don't do cotillion". So, why do you want to go with me?"

"I don't think those were my exact words." Jack chuckled.

Layla only nodded and picked her bag up from the ground and began heading towards the back of the dojo.

"Okay, okay!" Jack called, "It was wrong for me to reject Kim in the way that I did, but... I really am gross, my finger could end up in any hole on my face tonight—"

"Get to the point, Jack."

"I want to go to the dance with you." Jack said, "That's why I told Kim no."

Layla sighed, "It wouldn't be right of me to go to the cotillion with you after you told Kim no. She's my friend, Jack. I'm sorry."

"Then, can we just go as friends?" He asked, "I'm sure she wouldn't mind."

"You're persistent." Layla muttered, "Fine, I'll go. But I need to change."

And the two of them made their way to the cotillion. They had been extremely late. Fashionably late according to an onlooker who caught the two walking in.

Milton and Jerry hurriedly approached the two and explained how the Black Dragons were there to get revenge on Kim.

"How?" Jack questioned.

"Dude, they locked us in the closet." Jerry said.

"And now, for the presentation of the crowns by our grand swan."

The grand swan entered the small area and what looked like gravy had been dripping out from the nose of the design.

Jack and Layla made eye contact with each other and made their way onto the stage just in time for Frank (assumably) to press the button that sprayed the gravy onto the instead of Kim.

She heavily gasped, covered in small bits of gravy, "What just happened?" Kim questioned.

Jack turned. Him and Layla fully covered in gravy.

"Kim, Brody's a Black Dragon. He set you up." Jack explained.

"What?" She questioned, turning towards Brody.

"No, Kim, I had no idea. I—"

"What?"

Frank (assumably) pressed the button again. Hitting Kim and the announcer. Frank hopped out of the swan just as the announcer passed out.

"Looks like we've got you outnumbered six to three." Frank said.

Milton and Jerry soon made their way onto the stage help the others and Brody joining their side soon after.

The fight last a second longer than what onlookers expected, but the fight soon ended after Brody flipped Frank off of the table and Layla hit the swan to make grave fall onto the boy on the ground.

"Those guys ruined Layla's dress!" Someone shouted, "Get 'em!"

Only a few people chased Frank and the other Black Dragons out. Layla shook her head, she'll never get use to it and she knew that it wouldn't die down any time soon.

"Looks like the Black Dragons messed with the wrong Swan Queen." Jack said.

"Guys, I'm sorry." Brody said, "I guess I was kind of a jerk, huh?"

"You came through at the end." Layla smiled.

Brody left the three alone and soon Layla left Jack and Kim alone. And though Layla has left the duo alone, Jack has joined her at the table.

"Kim wanted me to give you this."

He held the crown out and placed in on her head.

"Please," She smiled, "this is the last thing I need."

"She wanted to thank you." Jack said, "But she wanted to talk to Brody before he left."

"I didn't do anything. She's my friend. I'm going to stand up for my friend."

That was one thing Jack Brewer really liked about Layla. She was kind, caring, smart. All of the above. And Jack promised that he wouldn't fall for her. He told himself that.

Don't fall for Layla Beasley.

Well... it was a little to late for that.

— lucy has something to say !!

the bottom of jacks feet are so fucking dirty 😭

y'all i forgot (i've remember a while ago but when do i update consistently?) that leo (jack) had been on an episode of shake it up where he and rocky (zendaya layla yolo) kissed so slay

also remember this could lead into a cobra kai fic if i'm motivated enough so... slay

kim not being able to dance is actually so funny like how is she moving like that 😭

bye :))))