Chapter 45- Taunting Nights

[] A M E L I A []

It had officially been four days since Leo came back. Though it seemed like enough time to meet over and over again, Leo and I had only met for our usual lunches. We had been busy with studying and just couldn't find time to meet up more than that.

But more importantly, I was trying to give him space. After everything that happened back home for him, I didn't want to corner him with my questions.

However, I was growing impatient. There was so much I wanted to ask him. Such as how Clara, James, and Laura were doing, and then about Jamal's party invite.

It was clear that Jamal was trying to invite me to a party, and that Leo was disagreeing. But why was the question. Not that I was mad at Leo, but I was confused as to why Jamal would want to invite me to a party. Did he really think I would come?

Instantly, my mind veered off to the last time I was at a party. And as if it were happening in this moment, my mind started reeling with memories of that night.

Suddenly, I was walking the crowd with John right in front of me and as I made my way through, I saw Levi-

And I was hurting.

I was hurting. Hurting, hurting, hurting-

Before my thoughts continued to consume me, I heard a knock at my door. Surprised, I straightened up in my chair. I slowly got up from my spot, my head still spinning with thoughts of parties. I made my way to the door slowly, and let out a breath as I opened the door.

Ever so slowly, I raised my eyes off the ground and looked up to see who was here at this time of day. It was late evening on a Thursday night, and I wasn't expecting anyone at this hour.

My breath caught in my throat as my eyes came in contact with his.

"Hey Moonie," Leo casually said.

I blinked at him, unsure of how to respond.

"Um...hi?" I squeaked out.

I rubbed my arm out of instinct as I stared at him confused.

"How did you get in?" I asked stupidly.

To my surprise, Leo smirked at me. He slowly brought up one hand and cupped it to the side of his mouth, as if he was telling me some huge secret. Instinctively, I leaned towards him a little.

"I picked the lock."

My eyes widened at his words and my mouth fell agape.

"Wait- what?"

And once again surprising me, Leo laughed at me. It was a small laugh, enough to showcase only one of his dimples, but it was enough to leave me breathless.

"Goodness, who do you take me for, Moonie? Some bad boy out of a novel? Of course I didn't pick the lock. I just waited for someone to come to the door like a normal college student," he said, still smiling.

I frowned at his words.

"Wait, why didn't you just call me?"

He shrugged.

"I wanted to surprise you."

My cheeks reddened at his words and I nodded meekly.

"Oh," I only said.

There was a moment of silence, until Leo spoke again.

"Hey Moonie," he said.

I looked up at him, trying my best not to faint from his gaze.

"Yeah?"

"Can I come in?"

And it was then that I realized that Leo was still standing in the hallway.

I hastily made way for him, and he casually strolled through the door. It was now that I noticed he was holding a bag in his hand. Confused, I closed my door and followed after him.

As if he did this every night night, Leo casually went up to my desk and started arranging things onto it. I watched in fascination as he slowly lowered his hand into the mystery bag. However, just as I was about to see what he was pulling out, he turned his back to my front, completely blocking my view of the table. When I moved to the other side, he did the same thing.

"Leo!" I said exasperated.

"Be patient, Moonie," he said, chuckling a little.

I huffed and took a step back. For the next few moments, I watched Leo's back as he focused on doing whatever he was doing on my desk.

As I watched him standing by my desk, whistling a small tune, I couldn't help but feel as if my room shrunk. Suddenly, the four walls of my dorm felt too small. However, him being here added a nice warmth to it.

After a few minutes, Leo let out a breath and stepped away from my desk. He then raised his hands and gestured them towards the table.

"Ta-da," he said monotonously.

My confusion heightened when I saw what he arranged on the table.

"What's all this for?" I asked, eyeing all the junk food Leo laid out.

As I looked back to Leo, I saw that his gaze was already transfixed on me. His eyes had turned darker, his gaze as intense as always. I faltered under his stare, wondering what I said to make him look at me like that.

Before I could say anything else to get out of this situation, Leo suddenly took a step forward. I didn't break from his gaze, not feeling the need to. Without wasting another second, he brought a hand forward and grabbed my own.

Not believing what had just happened, I looked down to our joined hands.

My heart was spiralling out of control, and I was surprised it didn't burst with how fast it was beating. I slowly looked up to him, my breath faltering when I caught Leo staring at me.

"Well Amelia Harrison, I can't let our first date be over Chinese takeout that Jamal and Andre brought. Nor could it be that night when I sang to you at The Pub to apologize for being a douche. I want our first date to be something better than that. I want our first date to be normal."

My heart froze at his words.

How could he say something like that so lightly? So easily?

"You heard what Andre and Jamal said that night?" I squeaked out, blushing for the billionth time tonight.

He only gave me a dazzling grin. I stared at him in wonder, hoping my gaze could tell him everything I couldn't voice out.

I wanted to tell him how much he meant to me. I wanted to tell him how I didn't even think of any of those being dates, because I didn't think he'd want to go on a date with me.

Before I could say something, Leo tugged me away from the desk. His eyes stayed trained on me as he slowly led us to the bed. I was walking backwards, my feet brushing his, as Leo guided me back. It felt like we were dancing to a song that never played. His eyes stayed trained on me, his hands tightening his hold on mine. It wasn't long before we reached the edge of the bed, only a few steps, but in those few steps, I felt so much peace, that it felt like forever since Leo held me.

My heart was racing as he slowly lowered me to a sitting position on the bed, while he stood in front of me.

I felt like putty in his hands. At this point he could probably drag me to America and I wouldn't notice. I was immobile under his hold.

Before I could quite literally faint in his arms, Leo took a step back, his hand leaving mine. He let out a small sigh and brought a hand up and tapped my head, snapping me out of my daze.

"No funny thoughts Moonie," he tsked.

I gasped and stared at him in disbelief.

"I wasn't thinking of anything!" I defended.

He only smirked at me once again, walking away from the bed.

"Whatever you say," he sang.

I huffed and crossed my arms over my chest in annoyance. Leo chuckled at my behaviour and continued walking away from me. He finally broke his gaze from mine and turned back to the desk. Curiosity got the best of me, and I watched as he fumbled around with something once again. After a few moments, he turned around, but this time, with a laptop in hand.

My eyes widened in surprise and I looked up to see him grinning at me.

"Alright Moonie, every college students' favourite date. Netflix and chi-"

"Don't you dare finish that sentence Leo Kennedy," I cut him off.

And of course, he started laughing again. After a few moments, we were finally settled on my bed. Leo had turned off the lights before he sat down, making the laptop the only source of light in the room. My blanket was draped over us, since the dorms never had sufficient heating, and the laptop was nestled on Leo's lap.

I told myself to get over the fact that he was sitting so close to me, heck I had already slept in the same bed as him before, and he had even kissed me. So there was no reason to freak out if he just sat next to me.

However, that was precisely the problem.

I was so used to Leo getting into my comfort bubble, that I didn't seem to mind when he stepped through it again and again. It made me anxious and nervous, but it didn't scare me.

I let out a small breath and looked over to him. The light emanating from the screen caused his features to light up. I could see his long lashes, the way his eyebrows were furrowed as he concentrated on typing on his laptop in the dark, the way his lips kept moving as he whispered his password possibilities to himself, and the way his leg was pressed up against mine. I noticed it all.

I finally looked away from him and tried to control my breathing. It was good timing too, because just then, he was able to log into his account.

"Finally," he sighed.

He turned to me then, his eyes looking darker in this light.

"What would you like to watch?"

And although he insisted that I pick, I argued that we both decide, which led to us not being able to watch anything for a good fifteen minutes. Alas, we finally settled on watching a show instead of a movie. Somehow, it made me giddy that we decided on a show. I felt as if it will be something we could do from time to time. Leo could come over once a week with his laptop, or I could go over to his, and we can watch this show together. It could be 'our thing.'

I froze mid-thought.

What the heck was I thinking?

Before I could scold myself for even thinking like that, Leo spoke into the silence. It was only then that I realized that he had paused the screen and was looking over to me.

"What's wrong Amelia?" he asked, a hint of nervousness in his eyes.

I shook my head at him.

"Nothing," I said a little too quickly.

Realizing how that sounded, I clamped my mouth shut and closed my eyes in defeat. To my surprise, Leo put the laptop off to the side and moved so that he was turned towards me. I watched as he slowly reached for my hand, giving me enough time to pull away if need be. I couldn't, as always, and he encased my hand in his own.

I held my breath and waited for him to speak, because God knows my brain wasn't functioning right now.

"Hey, what is it? Is it the date? Is it too, uh, casual?"

My eyes widened at his question.

'Is he for real?'

"No! Of course not!" I exclaimed, nearly jumping in my spot.

Realizing how eager that sounded, I immediately slumped back against the wall, my cheeks heating up. Leo smiled at my reaction, but it wasn't enough to simmer the battle going on in my head.

"Then what is it?"

It was dark, and my heart was beating too fast for me to decipher anything. Still, I somehow managed to blurt out the words I wanted to say.

"Why are you doing this?"

I couldn't face him as I asked this, my eyes trained on our joined hands.

"What?" he said in a clipped tone.

I bit my lip and stayed silent. After a moment, I heard Leo let out a small sigh. I looked up to him then and was surprised to see the hurt look in his eyes.

"Wh-what happened Leo?" I asked worriedly, sitting up straighter in my spot. "I'm sorry, it was a dumb question-"

"Do you think I'm like one of the douchebags from your past?"

My brows furrowed in surprise. Now it was my turn to be confused.

"What?" I breathed out.

"Do you think that I'm like one of those people from your past that are only there when you want to have fun, and not when you need them? Or that I'm some guy that just barges into a girl's room, claiming we're having a date?"

I stayed silent at his accusations, my mouth slightly agape.

"Why do you think so hard about everything I do for you Amelia?" he asked.

The wind was knocked out of me as I stared at him. His expression stayed neutral as he asked this, scaring me further. I quickly sat up and faced him completely, crossing my legs under me as I faced him. He watched my every move, his eyes unwilling to give anything away.

"You are not like them Leo. I know that. I know that with all of my heart. But I can't help it. I'm trying, I'm trying really hard not to look into everything you do for me, but sometimes I can't help it. You just do something completely crazy that has me feeling terrified and excited at the same time, like when you asked me to come home with you, or when you saved me from him- three times, in the alleyway, when I was leaving the library, and when I came to see you- or when you kis-"

I cut myself off then. I didn't realize that in the middle of my rant, I ended up too close to Leo. From here, I could see the lashes that framed his eyes, the small dot above his eyebrow, and could feel the breath that escaped his lips.

I was on my knees beside him, hovering above his frame. For once, he was looking up at me, and this made my heart beat faster than it already was.

I bit my lip as I caught what I was about to admit to him.

'Stupid, stupid, stupid,' I repeated in my head to myself.

How much dumber can I get? Is it really important to show him how much he was affecting me nearly every chance I got? He probably thinks I've never been in close proximity to the other gender before.

Swallowing my nervousness, I slowly started to lower myself back into my original position beside him. It didn't help that his scrutinizing gaze was following nearly every breath I took. My legs shook beneath me as I tried to shift back into my spot. However, before I could move even an inch, a pressure stopped me dead in tracks.

One moment, he was sitting peacefully beside me, and in the next, he was in front of me, his legs also folded beneath him and his arms wrapped tightly around my waist. I gasped with the impact, my hands falling on his shoulders. He sat up straighter now, his face in level with mine. My breathing was uneven as I stared at him with my mouth agape.

"Leo?"

He continued staring at me, his eyes travelling over every inch of my face. I held in a breath as he lifted one hand from my waist and brought it down to my face. I watched mesmerised as he slowly peeled away a stray strand of hair from my face, using one finger.

"Amelia Harrison, what am I gonna do with you?" he breathed out.

I let out a shaky breath as his finger trailed from my face, to my jaw, and slowly down my neck. My eyes closed on their own accord as he leaned in closer. I couldn't breathe as he pulled me impossibly closer to him, his hand finally stopping its torture to cup my cheek.

"Don't do it Moonie. Don't question why I'm willing to give my life for you."

My eyes snapped open, my hands squeezing his shoulders tighter.

"Don't ask until you're ready to hear the answer."

I was shaking. Every part of me was on fire, and was hit with a bucket of cold water at the same time. Leo's eyes were blazing, telling me everything he wanted to say. But I couldn't do it. I couldn't ask him again. A part of me wanted to know. But the other part, like always, was petrified.

Ever so slowly, Leo brought his lips down to my cheek and let it linger there for a moment more than my poor heart could handle, and pulled back.

"For now Moonie, just trust me a little. Trust that I won't hurt you."

I wish I told him then.

That it's not him I'm afraid will hurt me.

It's the opposite.