Chapter 13- Taunting Photographs

[] A M E L I A []

After the game on Sunday, the five of us fell into an easy routine. Usually, we would have lunch together with the occasional missing person due a study session with someone else or in Jamal's case, being at basketball practise. After lunch, we headed our separate ways to go classes and such. Gemma and I sometimes grabbed dinner together, with Andre, and even Leo joining us at times. Jamal almost always had practise until 8 or so.

We were already five weeks into the semester, meaning that most midterms were about to begin. Starting today, all five of us were starting to pick out time slots to study together. Since I had Sociology with Andre and Gemma, the three of us decided to meet sometime next week to study. As for Leo and I, we didn't have an English paper, only a final at the end of December. But we had many assignments to complete in between. Lastly, my other two courses were also taken care of.

Now, the only thing left was to actually start studying for them.

Another thing that was new, was that Leo had been more open to me ever since he apologized to me in English. He had been more talkative by asking about how my day had been and such, and to be honest, it was quite overwhelming.

For some reason, I felt safer when he just ignored me. But when he talked to me... I felt like he could see through me. I felt as if I couldn't lie to him even if I wanted to, because he would just know.

It was almost as if he was testing me. As if he could see beneath the layers.

It was as if he knew that there was another Amelia Harrison hiding underneath the exterior.

But he couldn't. There was absolutely no way he could know.

Right?

I snapped out of my thoughts when I heard jostling of papers and zzippp of bags being closed. I pulled the pen out of my mouth and placed it on the desk. I packed up my things quickly, as to not keep Leo waiting for me.

'Yes Amelia, why don't you just daydream about the guy who is literally sitting next to you in a classroom full of people. Just brilliant.'

I swallowed the thought as quick as it came and shoved my notebook into my bag, zipping my bag shut. Leo turned to face me and rose a brow at me.

"Getting faster at this I see," he said, gesturing to my quick pack-up.

I gave him a flat look, then quickly covered it up with a frown. Better to stay on his good side. Leo's face contorted in confusion for a split second, before he composed himself.

"After you," he said, gesturing for me to go first.

I brushed past him and started heading down the ramp. Suddenly, his voice caught my attention and I spun around to face him.

"-onie, you forgot your pen."

He held out the pen to me and I frowned taking it from him. He continued making his way down the stairs, and I was still left standing there and thinking about what he had just called me.

"You coming?" he called, snapping me out of my reverie.

I snapped my attention to him and made my way down the stairs after him. As we made it outside, I fell in step beside him. Curiously, I turned to him with a questioning gaze.

"What did you just call me back there?" I asked.

To my utter disbelief, he shrugged.

"What did I just call you?"

I sighed, a little irritated.

"That's what I'm asking."

Suddenly, he smirked, making my jaw tick further in annoyance.

"Hmmm. I'm not quite sure..." he trailed off.

And then we bickered all the way to the Coffee Rush.

* * *

[] T H I R D  •  P E R S O N []

Gemma, Andre, and Jamal were already seated in their regular seat at the campus' popular café, Coffee Rush. As usual, the place was packed for lunch time; however, the three of them had managed to get their regular spot by patiently waiting for another group to clear out, who just did about 15 minutes ago.

Jamal had his Biology book open in front of him, however, he only used that to prop his elbow on and to support his head so he could think of new strategies in basketball. Gemma and Andre both had their Sociology notes scattered over the rest of the table, and they were simply quizzing each other on what they had been studying.

As Jamal was in the middle of a yawn, he noticed a commotion outside of the café. He blinked and looked closer. To his utter disbelief, it was his best friend Leo. Without taking his eyes off of him, Jamal thwacked Andre's shoulders, insisting him to follow his gaze.

Feeling a force against his shoulder, Andre nearly fell out of his chair, making Gemma laugh uncontrollably. Andre hissed and turned to lecture Jamal. However, when he saw why Jamal had hit him so hard in the first place, he instantly closed his mouth and stared. She was about to comment at the absurdity of the boy's reaction, but when Gemma too saw what the boys were looking at, her own mouth fell open in shock.

"No fucking way..." the three of them murmured simaultaneously.

Outisde the cafe, they saw Leo and Amelia walking towards the café. Leo was a few steps ahead of Amelia with his hands thrown in his pockets. A giant smirk was gracing his lips as he carelessly sauntered forward. Amelia on the other hand, was the complete opposite of him. She had a furious glint in her eye and she was following behind Leo, poking his shoulder occassionally. Her mouth was moving, indicating that she was the only one talking, and it seemed as if Leo wasn't responding.

They looked like two normal adolescents, bickering about something normal.

However, their friends who were watching, knew better than anyone that these two were far from the norm. That is precisely why they were shocked in the first place.

The duo made their way inside the café in the same manner, with Leo taking the lead and Amelia following behind him. When they came to a stop at the table, Leo gestured for Amelia to take the seat next to Gemma. To everyone's surprise, Amelia gave him a flat look and plopped down onto the chair. Leo simply grinned at her obvious displeasure and easily plopped down in a chair right across from her. By now, Amelia had quieted down, however, the ferocity in her demeanor did not leave. Her hands were fisted on the table and she was glaring holes into Leo.

Gemma snapped out of it first. She cleared her throat and turned around to face her friend.

"What happened Amelia?" she asked curiously.

Jamal and Andre also leaned forward to hear to her answer.

"He-" she exclaimed pointing a finger at him, which made Leo's smirk widen. "Called me something and isn't telling me what he called me."

And now, Leo chuckled. The boys just stared at him with their mouths slightly open. Hearing his chuckle, Amelia's breath started coming out in angry puffs.

"Yes yes, keep laughing at my dispense please. Why don't you all join him?" she said, putting her face in her hands.

Suddenly Amelia stood up with an 'Oh- I forgot something' expression on her face, startling everyone.

"Oh no! I have to go visit professor Drews!" she exclaimed.

Before anyone could react, Amelia hastily picked up her bags and started heading out. As if snapping out of a trance, Leo suddenly noticed her leaving and started following after her. On his way, he grabbed a pen off of the table, one they had noticed with Amelia earlier on, and went after her.

"Wait!" he called out.

Andre, Jamal, and Gemma were left sitting in the same position they were in before, with their mouths agape.

This time, Andre snapped out of it first.

"Are we missing something here?" he muttered into the silence of the room.

And little did they know, they were. The trio had failed to notice that Amelia and Leo had become friends.

* * *

I slammed the door open and stepped out into the cold air. I couldn't believe I almost forgot about seeing the professor. Just as I satrted making my way towards his office, I heard footsteps behind me.

"Amelia!" I heard someone call out.

I stopped and turned around to face whoever called me. When my gaze landed on Leo running towards me, my gaze inmediately narrowed. He came to a stop in front of me, an annoying smirk on his face. Suddenly, he brought his hand up in between us. I looked down, only to see him holding my pen.

"You forgot this again, Moonie," he said.

My eyes widened in surprise.

'Moonie?'

I opened my mouth to say something, but before I could, Leo grabbed my hand in his and delicately placed my pen in my palm. Then, he dropped my hand and turned around to head back inside the café.

All the while, I could only watch his retreating back, my mind in chaos.

* * *

The rest of the week was spent with our noses in books. All of us had midterms this week, and thankfully, my last one was over and done with yesterday. However, I had a paper due Friday night, and to be honest, I hadn't even started yet. Thankfully it was a short paper, otherwise I'd be dead.

With that being said, I had just a little over 24 hours to complete it.

As I stared at my blank laptop screen, I realized that I couldn't do this. I needed someone to bounce ideas off of, otherwise, I'd be screwed. Not seeing any other way out, I decided to get Leo's help. However, I didn't have any way to contact him. No number, social media, or even an address. After much deliberation, I decided to text Andre for help.

Hey Andre, would you be able to give me Leo's contact? I'm stuck on an English project. -Amelia

His reply came almost a minute later.

Hey Amelia! I'll just give you his address. He sucks more at texting than he does at talking :) -Andre

I chuckled at his text and patiently waited for him to give me his address. Once he did, I checked the time to make sure it wasn't too late, and was happy to see that it was only a little past 7.

I pulled up his location on Google Maps and started making my way out. Thankfully, it was only a short 15 minute walk. I pulled on my hood just as I left my dorm and clutched my notebook to my chest. Then, I started the walk to his place, happy with the amount of exercise I would be getting. I followed the map and finally made it to the location. I stopped in front of a newer looking apartment building, not too far away from the campus, and took a deep breath.

I walked around the perimeter, searching for a way in, and thankfully, the moment I reached the front door, someone was making their way out. I quickened my pace and the person held open the door for me. I thanked them and made it inside.

Once inside, I started looking for his apartment number. Each door had their numbers imprinted into the door and I followed them, looking for a 209. I spotted the door at the far corner of the hallway and slowly walked up. I stopped in front of the door and for some reason, I hesitated before knocking.

'How would he react?' I thought foolishly.

For some reason, my heartbeat quickened as I slowly brought my hand up to knock on the wooden door. I knocked once, then twice, and a third. However, I got no response.

I contemplated going back home, but then I thought of my blank paper and knocked again.

After the fifth time, I decided to text Andre to see if Leo was even home or not. After I texted him, I waited. His reply came almost instantly.

Yeah, he's home. We're also heading there in a bit :) Try opening the door, he leaves it unlocked sometimes. The dick might just be sleeping :/- Andre

After reading his text, I decided to try my luck and twist the doorknob to see if it was open. To my surprise, the door made a satisfying click sound. I slowly opened the door and hesitantly stepped inside.

"Leo?" I called out.

I took another step inside and closed the door behind me. I took a look around my surroundings and wasn't surprised to see that his apartment was a little messy. There was a kitchen to my right, a living room right across, and two doors on each side of the apartment. There was scattered dishes on his dining table, but the rest of his apartment was pretty clean.

I awkwardly shifted from foot to foot before calling out his name again. Deciding to just go for it, I placed my notebook on one corner of the table, and made it further in his apartment. I slowly headed to one of the doors and knocked. The first one I went to, I heard no response from. However, I couldn't hear anything inside of it either, meaning it was most likely empty.

Then I headed to the other side of the apartment and sighed in relief when I heard noises from the other side. I slowly rapped my knuckles against the door.

Unsurprisingly, I didn't hear a response. However, the desperation of the assignment kicked in and I greedily opened the door. The room was dark, and after a few moments, my eyes finally adjusted to the darkness.

This room seemed like the master bedroom, since it was pretty big. There was a bed that covered most of the room, a side table on either side of it, and there a small vanity and mirror on one side of the room. After opening the door, I realised that the noise I heard was of the shower running, indicating that Leo must be in it.

Not wanting to be a total creep, I decided to get out of the room. However, before I could turn around and leave, something shiny caught my attention. I peered over and noticed that it was some sort of glass on the floor that got my attention. I bit my lip and contemplated if I should go check it out or not. Thinking that it might hurt Leo, I stepped inside. I reached a hand out and pressed it flat against the wall beside me and tried searching for the light switch. When I found it, I quietly flipped the switch open.

I found myself slowly heading over to the side table, right by the glass. As I got closer, I noticed that it was a glass frame. Sighing in relief, I slowly bent down to pick it up. I stood up straight and ran a hand over the glass.

It was an intricate frame, with rose embellishments and a pretty white border. It was definitely out of the norm for a young male's room.

Inside the frame was a photograph of a young boy, who had his arms around an even younger girl. The girl was smiling with all her teeth, the front two missing, and she was giving a noogie to the boy, who had his arms splayed out in a 'help me' manner. Before thinking too much of it, I started to place the frame back where it belonged.

However, before I could put it down, the frame was ripped out of my hands.

I gasped and twisted around to see who had snuck up on me like that. To my surprise, Leo stood before me, his face fuming with rage, and the frame clutched tightly in his hand.

"What the fuck do you think you're doing?!" he yelled.