Chapter 46- Taunting Questions

[] A M E L I A []

"That class was never-fucking-ending," Leo grumbled.

I chuckled at him and shook my head.

"Who told you to watch four episodes of 'The 100'?" I asked.

He leaned towards me, his eyes holding a mischievous glint.

"You weren't complaining last night."

This caused me to bark out another laugh.

"Leo, I fell asleep during the second episode."

He huffed and flicked my forehead. I gasped and slapped a hand to my head in shock. However, it only lasted a few seconds, because then I was grinning again.

"What was that for?"

He only gave me a flat look.

"For falling asleep during our date," he mocked.

And of course, my heart leapt out of its chest and fell straight into his hands at the mere mention of our date.

I blinked at him, my mouth still agape. It still surprised me that it happened, and more than that, that Leo initiated it. Before I could reply, he was already getting ready to leave the classroom.

"Let's go Moonie. Everyone's probably waiting."

I snapped out of my thoughts and turned to him. I gave him a small smile and nodded. We then made our way out of English in silence. The weather had gotten colder in the past few days, and it was time I brought out my puffiest winter jacket. I was stuffed in my jacket and scarf, while Leo wore his classic black coat. I probably looked like a snowman compared to him, but I couldn't help the fact that I felt cold easily.

We silently made our way to Coffee Rush, not needing to fill the silence. It was just when I was about to ask him something, that I felt a warm pressure on my hand. Surprised, I looked down to see that Leo had taken hold of my hand. I looked up at him, only to see that he was looking ahead, a small smile on his face.

I shut my mouth instantly and snapped my head to the front. When I had regained my breath, only then was I able to interwine my hand with his.

We walked towards Coffee Rush hand in hand, and as we got closer, the urge to tug my hand away was getting stronger. However, seeing how nonchalant Leo was about it, I kind of didn't want to let go. Sadly, I knew I had to.

I wasn't sure what was happening between Leo and I. Although he had insisted that last night was a date, I still couldn't exactly wrap my head around it.

That, and I hadn't told Gemma about anything. I had even hid the fact that Leo kissed me from her. Seeing as she has been one of my biggest supporters and one of my closest friends till now, it felt wrong to just saunter in with Leo without telling her anything beforehand. I knew that once she finds out about us, she'd be ecstatic. But that was precisely the problem. I didn't want her to find out like this.

So just before we made it all the way to our lunch spot, I stopped in my steps. Confused, Leo followed my lead and came to a halt as well. He turned to face me, his gaze questioning my sudden stop.

"Leo, don't take this the wrong way, but... can we not walk in like this?"

I held up our joined hands sheepishly, a grimace on my face. Leo frowned at my suggestion.

"Why?" he asked, sounding slightly disappointed.

"I just, I don't want anyone to get the wrong idea," I murmured.

This caused him to frown further.

Not liking the direction this was going, I quickly stumbled over my words to correct myself.

"Not like that, I just... I don't want Gemma to find out this way. Not when I haven't been completely honest with her."

I took a deep breath and rubbed my forehead in frustration. For some reason, this was a lot harder than it needed to be. Taking a deep breath, I turned to face Leo determined. This time, his frown was replaced by a softer look and I properly voiced out my thought to him.

"Truthfully, Gemma has been my first real friend in a long time. Back then she was too. But, I wasn't exactly honest with her back then. I knew her much before I started high school and I considered myself to be a close friend of hers. I tried being there for her, but when she did the same for me after Brittany's death, I pushed her away. I don't want to do that anymore. I want to be honest with her. And seeing as I haven't even told her about the fact that we already went on a date, I don't think I'm doing a very good job."

I finally finished my rant and let out a deep breath. Surprisingly, Leo was quiet while I spoke. After I was finished, he only gave me an understanding look.

"Actually, you're right. I sort of feel the same way," Leo murmured, scratching the back of his head. "Truth be told, I wanted to tell Andre and Jamal too, but never got the time. It was in the 'spur of the moment' kind of decision I made last night, and didn't really get to tell them much either."

For some reason, his words caused my heart to soar.

He said this casually, as if we were discussing the weather. Did this mean he was just thinking of me yesterday and decided he wanted to go on a date with me? Did that mean I was on his mind often?

My heart was burning.

I quickly snapped out of my thoughts and gave all the rest of my attention to Leo.

"That and if we go in like this, I'm sure Andre will scream so loud that the whole campus will know that we had a date."

I laughed out loud at this, imagining the scenario. Leo grinned, his hand tightening around my own for a moment.

"Alright then Moonie," Leo said after I sobered.

He held up our joined hands again, and let mine go in one swift movement. Then he put his hands in his pockets and sighed. I gave him a small smile in return.

"Thanks Leo."

He rolled his eyes at me.

"Alright Amelia Harrison, next step is getting you to stop thanking me for everything."

I grinned at him.

"Never, Leo Kennedy."

* * *

"What do you mean you can't come to the party?" Andre asked with a pout.

I shrunk back in my seat, the mere mention of a party bringing back only harmful memories. I felt Leo stiffen in the chair beside me, but I didn't dare to look at him.

"I just don't do parties," I told him, partly truthful.

"That's not true, you-"

I snapped my head up to Gemma's in an instant, my eyes widening in shock. Realizing what she was about to say, Gemma bit her lip, giving me an apologetic look as she did so. I shook my head at her, not bothered by my old self much anymore. She had just surprised me for a moment.

"Oh come on Amelia," Jamal groaned, catching our attention. "It'll be a great night! Seeing Andre make a fool out of himself is an experience of a lifetime."

While everyone else laughed, I only frowned. Truthfully, I kind of wanted to go. Leo, Andre, Jamal, and Gemma had nothing but friendly and caring towards me. They included me even when I wasn't sure I wanted to be, and I sort of wanted to return the favor. However, it wasn't as simple as that. I couldn't simply just go to a party.

What if Jackson was there, too?

After the last times' events, I knew I couldn't be near him. Not if I wanted to dig my own grave.

My mind drifted off to the last time he caught me in the alley. I could almost feel his grimy hands on me. If Leo didn't get there in time-

The thought caused a shiver to go down my spine.

"What's wrong Amelia?" someone asked.

I snapped out of my reverie and took a quick look around the table, only to see everyone's gaze fixated on me.

"Nothing," I murmured.

"Hey, if you don't want to go, that's okay too," Andre said, his eyes narrowed in worry. "We just thought it'd be fun to hangout before finals begin."

My heart warmed at his words. I took a deep breath and took one more look around the table. Everyone was nodding along to what Andre was saying, causing my heart to squeeze.

Despite wanting me to go, they were still thoughtful enough to consider that I might not want to go. I turned to Leo, and was surprised to see his eyes holding a different intensity than the one I was accustomed to seeing. This one almost reminded me of the time when I joined the boys for lunch during my first week here. It was my third or fourth time meeting them, and Leo had bombarded me with unnecessary questions.

His look held a challenge.

"Actually, I think you should definitely come with us Moonie."

My eyes widened at his words.

Why would he say that? Especially when he knew just why I didn't want to go. He knew about the last party I went to, and just how badly it ended up. They all did. But on top of that, Leo knew about Jackson. He knew that he was still out there, that he could be anywhere, anywhere close to me. Although he was beaten up badly by Leo, that doesn't mean he can't reach me after he's recovered.

So why was Leo saying this?

My mouth parted, unable to hide my surprise.

"Uh, Leo, I can't-"

"Well then I guess I'll just have to ask you officially."

My eyes widened in disbelief and I sat up straight in my chair. Andre, Jamal, and Gemma had also done the same, all of us facing Leo with a questioning look. However, his eyes were glued to mine.

"I know you didn't want me to say it, but I can't hold back anymore," Leo continued.

"Wh-what are you saying Le-"

Before I could stutter out the rest of my sentence, Leo spoke, turning the last of my world upside down.

"Amelia Harrison, will you be my date to the party?"

* * *

My dorm room closed with a smack behind me, and I flinched in response. I took a deep breath and finally turned around.

"You better start explaining."

I sighed and slumped down into my desk chair.

"IwascaughtbyJacksonandLeocameintimetosavemaandhekissedme-"

"Whoa, whoa. Stop right there Amelia," Gemma said, holding her hands out in a stop motion. "Slow down."

I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. Then finally, I explained everything to her. Starting from the night I left her to go see Leo, how he kissed me, and everything afterwards. The only thing I left out was what Jackson did to me when he caught me that night. This was something she didn't need to know.

I finally ended my story by explaining what happened this morning. Gemma was squealing by the time I finished.

"And before I die of guilt, I'm sorry I didn't tell you sooner. Everything was just really chaotic and-"

"Are you kidding Amelia? Of course it's okay!" she exclaimed.

She was pacing in my small room now, her arms flailing about as she talked. I could only watch from my seat, waiting for her excitement to settle down.

"I can't believe this is actually happening. I've shipped you two since like, day zero."

I blushed at her antics and hid my face in my hands.

"Gemma!" I groaned out.

I only heard her laughter in response.

"I figured out he had it bad for you the day Andre asked me to bring you to The Pub."

My eyes widened and I quickly dropped my hands from my face, turning to Gemma incredulously.

"Wait- what?"

Gemma's eyes widened and she immediately looked over to me, her mouth agape.

"Aw darn, I wasn't supposed to tell you that."

My mouth fell open in disbelief.

"So... it was all a setup?" I asked incredulously.

She sighed and gave me an apologetic look.

"Actually, meeting Andre and Jamal that night wasn't a coincidence. Andre had called me earlier, saying that Leo wanted to invite you. He never told me why, and it sounded like he didn't know either. But he believed in Leo's plan and that was all I needed to hear to convince you to come."

I nodded slowly at her words, finding it hard to believe that Leo planned everything so intricately back then, only to apologize to me about something that wasn't entirely his fault. It was his instinct to yell at me for peeking around in his room. I may have done the same if he found a picture from my past in my room. However, that was back then. If he found something now, I wouldn't even be phased.

"Amelia, he's a good guy."

The sincerity in her voice caused me to snap my head to hers. Her mouth was contorted into a small smile, making me feel shy all of a sudden. Her tone was knowing, as if she was telling me 'I told you so'.

And it was true.

She had been telling me all along.

I sighed and patted my thighs.

"Alright, enough with this. Weren't we going to study?"

Gemma rolled her eyes at me.

"Yes, but later. For now, we have to finish talking about this."

I groaned once again and Gemma laughed at my dispense. After she quieted down, Gemma turned to me with a smirk.

"So does this mean you two are dating now?"

I let out a breath at her words, my mind swirling with confusion.

"I don't... I don't know. Quite frankly, I don't think I'm capable of that kind of relationship yet," I mumbled, choosing my words carefully.

Gemma nodded.

"Go on," she prompted.

"There's a lot of things jumbled right now Gemma. I don't know if now is the right time for this. His dad just passed away, exams are coming up, and... I just... I don't know."

I sighed after my mini rant.

"To be honest Amelia, things are always jumbled," Gemma said after a moment of silence. "No matter what, it seems life never settles down. But if you really feel that right now isn't the right time, then maybe it isn't. However, when that opportunity does come, don't let it go, okay Amelia? Don't let him go."

I stared at her hard. She was staring at me with wide eyes, almost pleading with me to listen to what she was saying. I only nodded at her, unable to make another sound.

She grinned when I nodded, looking as if she accomplished something great. I smiled at her, and she clapped her hands once. She then came to a stop in the middle of the room, turning to me with an excited grin.

"Alright Amelia, screw studying. We are going to find you the perfect outfit for tomorrow. Especially since it's your first college party, and your second date with lover boy."

That's when I really groaned. However, I secretly hoped that her shopping spree was the last of my nightmares for the next little while.