When She Cries [ Spritz / R ]

[Greed]

For once in her lifetime, her parents weren’t hovering over her shoulder, criticizing her work, making a dismissive comment on her ‘unfit’ appearance, or just giving her another huge list of chores to do. And, even though the sky was a dull grey color, promising rain, Leah was going to take advantage of the fact that she had free time for once—time away from her verbally abusive family and their unbelievable amount of household chores they needed done. Pulling her cyan-and-purple hair into a ponytail she picked up her phone and silently tiptoed down the stairs, praying neither her mother nor father, or Liam, would randomly show up and task her with more chores. She was done for the day – whether her parents approved of it or not. But even that was a lie. Come dinnertime, she’d have to clean up dishes, and set the table and…

Sighing, Leah shook her head. Had she seriously become so accustomed to chores that that was all that filled her thoughts anymore? Well… that, and Micah. Two months fresh of his death, she still thought about him constantly, and each time it felt like something was prodding her heart with an iron brand. Leah slipped silently out of the maroon-colored door as soon as she’d reached it, grabbing the spare keys off of the key rack and heading out into the big bad world. A world that she’d once found so beautiful. A world she had used to love, so, so dearly. Micah had made her see the beauty in life. He’d made her unable to see a speck of dirtiness or unhappiness in the world. He’d always made her feel like she could do something, that she could make a difference, and make someone happy like Micah made her happy.

Leah plugged earbuds into her ears, flipping through the songs on her iPhone before landing on her favorite Maroon 5 album and hitting the play button before shoving the phone and her hands into the pockets of her slate grey hoodie, the hood slinging uselessly over her shoulders and back. With the sound blaring into her ears (probably in at an unhealthy volume, she guessed, but she could care less, to be completely honest), Leah dropped her hazel gaze to the sidewalk, watching her tattered grey converse slap against the pavement as her body directed her in the way it directed her. In all honesty, she wasn’t even paying attention. No… her mind was elsewhere. Her mind was drowning slowly in memories of Micah and herself. The times they’d spent at that little playground a few blocks down from her house, that they’d chased each other around and climbed on for countless hours on end. Letting out a content sigh, Leah hadn’t realized where she’d walked to until she’d looked up at the end of the song ‘Better That We Break.’

Before her eyes was the playground that held so many memories. Too many for her to count… too many for her to forget.

“You know something, love?” Micah asked with a smile plastered to his face, his eyes on the road in front of him.
“No, I don’t. What?”
“You’re crazy,” Micah glanced over at Leah with an affectionate gaze that made her heart pound. His bright blue eyes shone brightly underneath bleach-blond tresses over overly-long bangs. But she liked them like that… that way, she got to tease him about him needing a haircut. And when she was being play-angry, threaten that she’d cut his bangs while he slept. Yeah… she liked him like that.
“I know that!” Leah laughed, hitting him playfully on the shoulder. “I let you obsess about Maroon 5, so let me obsess about a band every once and a while, too!”
“But really? Screamo bands? I never would’a thought you’d be into that, love. that’s why I’m saying you’re crazy!”
“Oh, come on. I listen to contemporary, too.” Leah smiled gently at Micah, studying his eyes for a second before turning her head. What she saw terrified her and she immediately tensed up, nearly shooting out of her seat. “Micah!”

Leah jolted back into reality, letting out a breath she hadn’t been aware she’d been holding in, and turning her eyes back to the playground. Micah… Leah thought quietly as her eyes studied the rusting playground things, swing sets, those contraptions that spun ‘round and ‘round, and the climbing tower that they’d spent so much time in. With a sad smile, Leah brought a hand up to her face and quickly wiped away a few tears that had managed to escape. With an unknown reasoning, Leah stepped onto the light brown mulch of the playground, and remembered. Maybe…

Maybe coming on a walk hadn’t been such a brilliant idea, after all.

[Spritz]

Eric Foster scuffed the toe of his converse into the dirt, his fingers wrapped around the cool chains of the swing. His ear buds were pressed into his ears and his dark eyes had a distant, unfocused look to them as he stared at the ground, the hood of his black sweatshirt hiding his face from anyone that would pass by.

Fortunately, there wasn't very many people in the park at all, and the rest of the visitors were quickly heading to their vehicles to escape the storm before it hit. Eric glanced up at the stormy grey sky, and he felt calm, finally, like the turmoil around him relieved him of his own. He would much rather be caught in the storm then be back at home. Anything was better then there. It was once a safe haven for him, it had been the one place he was sure he would be loved and accepted for who he was, but not anymore.. not since his mother had died. The teen that swayed solemnly on the rusty swing didn't feel like he belonged... anywhere. If home was the place he feared the most, where else was there to go? He came here as often as he could. For him, it was like an escape from his life, the quiet was extremely soothing and he found that he was able to forget about everything that was happening.

A soft rumble of thunder shook overhead in the clouds, making the boy raise his bruised face and take out an earbud. The wind had picked up in the last few minutes, and it tugged at the edges of his hoodie and ruffled his hair in front of his eyes.
Eric stood up, flexing his fingers and wincing a bit as a sharp pain shot up his arm from his ragged knuckles. His phone buzzed, and the teenager slipped his hand into his pocket and turned it on silent after a quick glance at the screen. |Eric's dark eyes narrowed, tears barely brimming in their depths, before he blinked them away and shoved the device back inside of his pocket. He wasn't concerned with his step father's frantic efforts to find him. That drunken bastard had decided to attack Eric when he had gotten home only a few hours before, for no good reason other then to let off his excess steam. They had both delivered a few good blows but Eric had gotten the brunt of it. He wasn't nearly as strong as Mike and he had been caught completely off guard.

Softly, rain started to fall from the sky. The drops fell gently, splashing in the dirt at Eric's feat and pattering quietly against his hood. He winced as an icy drop hit his swollen and bruised cheek, then glanced up sharply as he heard the distinct sound of footsteps behind him. A red hot lash of anger seemed to shoot through his body, his hands curling into fists, expecting to see Mike walking towards him, a scowling look of anger on his rough face. Instead, it was a girl. Eric was surprised for a minute at the sight of her. With her colorful hair fanning out behind her in the wind, she reminded the teen of a brilliantly colored flower against a grey dismal background. His lips cracked into a smile without meaning to, and he used the back of his hand to wipe away a trickle of blood that ran down his chin, not realizing how terrible he looked.

His mysterious eyes watched her from behind the cover of his shaggy black bangs, and he leaned against the metal pole of the swing set. Something about her fascinated him. He hadn't ever seen her before, not in school, not anywhere. He was sure that he would have remembered if he had. The girl was very beautiful, in her own, exotic style. She seemed completely original and even though he didn't know her, he felt immedietly attracted to her. It was only then that he noticed the glimmer of tears in her eyes, and he looked away, feeling rude for studying her so when she was obviously having a rough time with something. Eric felt pulled to help her(which was very rare, since he generally avoided people) and casually slipped into stride a bit behind her, nonchalantly trying to figure out what to do.

[Greed]

Leah smiled glumly as her eyes glazed over everything in the playground, barely noticing the other person within proximity to her. No…in fact, her eyes were so clouded with memories, all she saw was a sunny day, with an empty playground, except for Micah chasing her around the swing-set while she giggling uncontrollably. The memory faded slowly from her vision as she felt raindrops hitting her face, sending a chill down her spine. The water was ice-cold, and succeeded at waking her from her pleasant waking dreams. Why couldn’t all of her memories be pleasant? Why were most of them filled with the doubt of herself, of her worth, that her parents had wedged so far down into her heart? Was she truly that worthless? Did she mean anything to the world, now that Micah was gone? Had…she been born solely to love him? Was it her that gave him purpose? Or was it different? Thankful for the distraction, Leah looked up at the grey sky, the light raindrops—that would undoubtedly become heavier with time—fell on her face, masking tears and erasing the line of discernibility between what were tears and what were raindrops.

Leah smiled gently at Micah, studying his eyes for a second before turning her head. What she saw terrified her and she immediately tensed up, nearly shooting out of her seat. “Micah!”
Apparently he’d seen it coming before she had, for tanned hands had released the wheel and that familiar click of a seatbelt unlatching was heard before Leah saw a flash of bleach-blond hair, and felt a body fall against her heavily, shielding her from whatever was coming. What came next, Leah would never clearly remember. As the collision happened, the sound of crunching metal deafened her, and her head was thrown back against the headrest of her seat. Everything seemed to go by in slow motion. The force of the crash snapped the hairband that kept her hair up in a ponytail, and the seatbelt jerked against her torso painfully, doing its job of trying to keep her safe. It was when the airbag blew that she really grasped the fullness of the situation. It pushed the deadweight of Micah upon her, crushing her between him and her seat.
After a moment of trying to get her bearings, Leah groaned and tried to push whatever was on top of her away, but couldn’t manage it. Leah looked up to see what it was, and was met with bright blue eyes that held a shocked expression in them. But they didn’t blink. They didn’t focus. They didn’t do…anything. Leah’s breath hitched in her throat as she desperately trashed around, trying to get out of her position and try and help her lover.
“Micah! Micah, wake up!” Leah cried, tears blurring her vision, “Micah! Please! I…Micah!” Leah’s voice hitched as she screamed as loud as she could at him, trying, oh, so desperately to get him to respond to her. And even with his face almost touching hers, Leah felt no breath. As the sudden realization of what had just happened hit her, Leah sunk back into the seat, staring at the face of the man she loved the most hovering above her, helpless to do anything but wait for help to arrive.

Leah shook her head vigorously, loose strands of hair whipping around in her face as the wind picked up and brought her out of her thoughts. Leah turned slightly, her ponytail hitting her in the face gently, when a tall figure suddenly came to her attention. It appeared that he was following her. When Leah turned around, her brows furrowed as she examined him, she jumped when she saw his face. He looked as if someone had just beaten him up. Was he one of those weirdos that lived in the alleyways and “picked and chose” girls, so to speak? Leah stumbled back a step, but upon closer inspection, he didn’t seem to have that look on his face that would make her think he wanted any more from her than…well…what did he want from her, exactly?

Leah removed her earbuds, pulling out her phone and wrapping the headphones around them before straightening herself and, in a type of nervous habit, pulled her ponytail tighter before clearing her throat. She’d noticed the raindrops had started to get heavier…but it didn’t matter to her much. She loved the rain. Probably because it seemed to fit her mood a lot. Wiping her eyes quickly she cleared her throat again and looked up at the boy, eyeing him suspiciously, “U-um… c-can I help you?” Leah said it in such a way that it was obvious she wasn’t trying to be a smartass, but was genuinely concerned about whether or not she could help him. Leah also gave off the air of being a bit awkward… it wasn’t as if she talked to people very often!

No…really…she never talked to people. She was ‘homeschooled,’ even if her parents didn’t teach her anything three fourths of the time, and this was one of the first times she’d been out of the house in months. She felt trapped…and suddenly being thrown into a position where she was supposed to have a conversation…? Okay, maybe it wasn’t mandatory. But she was very curious as to why some random teenager, whom appeared to be no older than herself, was following her out of nowhere. Where had he come from, anyways? Had he been here the whole time, and she’d just failed to recognize him, since she’d been so lost in thought? Or had he just arrived here and wasn’t actually following her at all, merely walking in the same direction? How was she supposed to act, anyways? He’d obviously been kicked around by somebody, but who? And… Leah grimaced inwardly. She was so unaccustomed to talking to people, she didn’t even know what questions were right to be thinking and which were just plain loony! Dispersing the other random questions of curiosity out of her mind, she waited for his response.

[Spritz]

Eric ducked his head, watching the ground under his dirty, mud caked converse. The wind was chilly and he felt a shiver run through his body as the storm's mildly cold breath penetrated his sweatshirt and the layers underneath. He felt strangely nervous, and almost shy, feeling extremely awkward as he followed the mysteriously beautiful girl, trying to think of a single logical thing to say to her. He couldn't let her get away... what if he never saw her again? Eric wasn't the kind of boy to believe in love at first sight and anyone asked him about it, he was sure to have a strong opinion on the matter. But still... even though it was exactly against what he thought he believed, there was definitely something going on. Not only was there a physical attraction but he sincerely felt like he wanted to help the girl. The way her eyes had looked, so lost, and those tears.. he knew what it felt like. Without realizing it, Eric had forgotten about his troubles for a few minutes, just by seeing this strange girl. He hadn't even spoken to her yet and the physical and emotional pain he had been trying to deal with seemed to have dulled significantly, if not disappeared for the time being.

The boy took a deep breath, wiping the a bright dribble of blood off of his chin again with the his sleeve then shoving his hands into his pockets, trying to appear as if he wasn't actually following her. The girl slowed, then turned around, her face looking somewhat confused and also suspicious as she eyed the tall and lanky boy, who in his surprise, tripped over his own shoe and stumbled forward to catch himself, causing the distance between the two teens to be that much closer. His body stiffened and he straightened, eyeing her from the cover of his dark hair, his eyes glimmering as they met hers. As their gaze locked he felt almost shy, and tried to stumble and find something to say that wouldn't make him sound like a fool. "I wasn't following you- well I was, but-" He winced, and tried another approach, clearing his throat and shifting uneasily on his feet. "What I meant to say was.. I just really wanted to-" Again, he stalled, and he cursed under his breath as anything reasonable to say seemed to disappear out of his vocabulary. "I saw you crying." Eric said the words quietly, raising his eyes to meet hers again. They brightened softly as he took in her features, and again was reminded of a rare and delicate flower- but maybe, he had been wrong about his first thought, this girl looked like she was tough. She probably had thorns too.

Eric gave a shy smile and scratched his head, shrugging gently. "Are you alright?" A sting on his swollen lip reminded him that his face probably looked like it had just been smashed in by the front of a truck. Almost self consciously, he quickly raised his arm and tried to wipe away any remaining blood and hide the swollen bruise that had blossomed on his smooth tan skin. He didn't even mean to speak, but words left his mouth anyway. "I know what its like," He whispered, his voice soft in the rising wind, "You just feel... broken." He shrugged and smiled at her gently, then stuck out his hand. He hoped she wouldn't mind the bloody knuckles. "I'm Eric Foster."

[Greed]

Leah eyed him curiously one more time before he seemingly tripped over himself and fell forward. Leah instinctively put her hands out in front of her, as if to catch him, but he seemed to catch himself before he knocked into her. She stared at him somewhat awkwardly, unaccustomed to the closeness of him. She searched his eyes for a second. His eyes…they held a similar expression to the one she did when she was beaten down by the world sometimes. Leah tilted her head to the side a minute, wondering what in the world he was doing. When he tried to explain himself, she couldn’t help but let the corners of her lips tweak into a smile. He sounded ridiculous. Was he or wasn’t he following her? So…he was. Leah was half tempted to put him out of his misery by saying something like ‘You don’t have to explain yourself,’ before he got the chance to speak again, but 1) that just felt like an unnatural answer and 2) he had already begun trying to explain himself again before she’d gotten the chance to speak.

Biting her lip in attempt to keep herself from giggling at his very uncoordinated behavior, Leah listened to him intently. When he mentioned that he saw her crying, her smile faded slowly and she shrugged, dropping her hazel gaze to the sidewalk that was quickly dampening with increasingly heavy rainfall. “I…yeah.” Leah couldn’t say anything else. What else would she say in the first place? ‘Oh, yeah, I was crying because I was thinking about a dead person.’ Now that is one way to create a super awkward moment and make an everlasting first impression…even if it might not be the right one. But something shifted inside of her as he spoke those words, and she kept quiet for another minute, and before she had the chance to speak, he spoke again. Something behind the words he spoke held a deeper meaning to them… They weren’t empty words, hollow of any true meaning or sympathy, like her parents. And even then, they didn’t even give her the courtesy of pretending to care. They were so incredibly blunt about her failing at everything she did that it wouldn’t be much better even if they did pretend. She’d know it was fake.

Leah nodded, clearing her throat yet again, “Y-yeah. I’m fine. I… I mean, I’ll be fine. I can cope with it. I’m used to it by now.” Leah offered him a halfhearted smile, which again faded slowly as he began to talk again. She narrowed her eyes, the wind whipping cyan-and-purple hair in front of her eyes, and she moved a hand to brush the strands out of her face. He…knew? She looked him up and down once before sighing. She supposed he did know. At least, he looked like he knew. Even in the howling winds, his soft words hit her like an anvil. She chuckled grimly, “Broken, huh…?” She turned and looked at the sky again, remaining quiet for a few moments. “Yes… broken.” She repeated, not bothering to look at him again…not just yet. “Broken is one word for it. It’s not that simple sometimes, though.” She sighed and looked at him, “No, really. It’s not that simple at all.” Shrugging it off, Leah decided, even if she was unfamiliar with human interaction, starting off on the wrong foot like this, with such a dreary conversation, wasn’t what ‘normal people’ did. When he held out his hand and introduced himself, she faltered for a second, not really knowing what he wanted from her.

After shaking off her initial idiocy, she nodded and took his hand, shaking it quickly before taking her hand back. It was…strange. Did it usually feel so…strange…just shaking someone’s hand? It wasn’t a bad kind of strange, either. It was like an unspoken attraction, as if there was something that clicked within the two of them that just linked them together, in a way that they may or may not know. “Leah…” Leah said quietly. “Leah Meyer.” Leah stuffed her hands back in her pockets, opening her mouth to say something when the rain suddenly began to dump on them as if the sky were taking tons upon tons of water and just throwing it onto the world below. Within seconds, Leah was drenched, and she was afraid her phone was going to spaz out. Walking home wasn’t an option – that would take way too long. Squinting her eyes slightly to keep the rain from stinging them, she glanced around at the playground to see if there was somewhere where the two of them could chill while they waited for the storm to pass.

[Spritz]

Eric could tell... someone had hurt this girl. Something was bothering her and he wanted to help, but felt that if he asked, he would appear to be nosy and pushy and scare her away from him. He was probably already awful looking enough and that little bit of a push just might make her disappear forever. That was a risk that he couldn't take. She spoke and his heart thumped softly. The boy could detect the familiar feeling of loneliness and defeat in her voice, and immediately wished he could do something that would help her. This was the most interaction he'd had with a stranger in a long time. Eric didn't have many friends, and even the ones he did have mostly just felt sorry for him. It wasn't much but still... it was enough to make him feel much better.

He watched the girl with a somewhat curious and awed look on his face, his crooked, awkward smile growing a bit wider as her slender warm hand slipped into his. The shake was brief and hesitant but none the less, the slight contact, the touch of her smooth skin against his made him feel different. He was definitely not the type to usually get what they would call 'butterflies' in his stomach, but if he could describe what he was feeling Eric would have definitely agreed. This girl made him feel strange and he didn't even know her name yet. That was the exciting part of it. After the handshake, he dropped his hand to his side and slipped a thumb into his pocket, watching her with his dark eyes from under the cover of his shaggy black bangs.

"Leah." The boy repeated her name, nodding and smiling at her. It felt good to smile. "It's pretty. I think it fits you good." Eric complimented her as the name ran through his head. He wouldn't forget it any time soon. He was quiet for a few moments, studying her face politely, trying to think of something to say in the quiet silence that followed. A thick rumble of thunder rolled overhead, and the boy looked quickly up to the sullen grey sky. The storm clouds looked as angry and as heavy as ever, and in only a few seconds, the spattering of cold rain changed drastically, the drops falling from the sky and crashing into the ground as a torrent quickly started to grow.

Instinctively, Eric's dark eyes quickly darted around him, trying to find some place to stay dry. Trying to find his way home in this weather would be impossible, lightning flashed in the sky and the whole park seemed to be a much darker, gloomier place then before. "Come on, we're going to get soaked!" He reached out, softly grabbed Leah's hand, and pulled her to the only crude type of shelter that was close enough to be of any use. His converse slapped into shallow puddles and threw muddy water up onto his jeans, black hoodie soaked from the roaring downpour and his black hair plastered onto his forehead. He ducked under the playset, having to crawl to fit in the space without hitting his head on the top, and gesturing for Leah to come in after him. "It's dry in here, come on, i'll help you in!"

[Greed]

Leah had been having a hard time paying attention, with her mind on everything that had gone wrong in the past two months. It was funny, really. How quickly her parents could forget she was an actual person and just focus on the fact that Micah’s death was “her fault.” Somehow, in the grand scheme of things, Leah knew she was here for a reason. The car accident had been bad enough that she shouldn’t be alive. No…nobody else survived. She was the only one… And ever since her parents had told her so, Leah knew she hadn’t been meant to live. How could one continue to live, knowing that they should be dead? They should be buried six feet under? Maybe that’s what Leah had been searching for a reason…to live. A reason to find out there in the big bad world that would make those feelings go away. But that was hard to do when her parents kept her locked up in her own house, forcing her to do their chores.

Leah shook her head one last time, blowing it off by pretending she’d just gotten too much rain on her face. What a stupid reason. But after Leah had shaken that boy’s hand…Eric’s hand…she felt like she was much more attentive, listening to every word he said. And she smiled gently when he complimented her name. “Thanks…” Leah smiled bashfully, feeling her cheeks turn a light, rosy pink. What the heck was going on with her? She was usually so dismissive and cold, keeping people at arm’s length. So why did he make her stomach flutter, and make her blush with the tiniest of compliments? However, those thoughts disappeared when he grabbed her hand. She couldn’t help but notice the roughness of his hand, but it wasn’t unpleasant. It was a feeling she’d never experienced before. Not even with Micah. Micah’s hands had been so incredibly different than Eric’s…but…Leah couldn’t help but think that, in a way, Eric’s hands were better. She blushed slightly when she realized what she was thinking, and jumped when the lightning flashed. It wasn’t that she was scared of lightning, because she wasn’t, but she was just all jittery suddenly. She didn’t really like it either, but allowed herself to be dragged along behind Eric.

Eric lead Leah to a place she knew very well. Better than she’d care to admit. Leah dropped to her knees and quickly crawled underneath it, turning to look at Eric and smiling shyly. “Well… that kind of came out of nowhere.” Leah chuckled quietly, somewhat startled by the sound of her own laughter. When had she laughed last? She couldn’t even properly remember. But just as quickly as it had come, her laughter left. Leah’s eyes glanced over the playground’s underside with a hidden longing in her eyes, sighing very lightly. Why… had things ever changed?

As the sudden realization of what had just happened hit her, Leah sunk back into the seat, staring at the face of the man she loved the most hovering above her, helpless to do anything but wait for help to arrive. And so Leah stayed there, trapped underneath the body of her lover that was slowly growing colder and colder, shocked into silence, for another ten minutes before the sound of wailing sirens could be heard coming closer to her. And all the while, she couldn’t bring herself to cry. She was so rattled she didn’t even know which way was up, and which was down. Was she dreaming? If she was…why couldn’t she just wake up already!? Leah was snapped back to attention when she heard metal scraping against metal beside her, only to see some men in uniform slowly trying to yank the door away from the car without injuring her or the person on top of her, that still wasn’t moving. It was more than obvious that he wasn’t alive…more than obvious that he was, indeed, as dead as he could possibly be. Slowly, as if they had better things to be doing and didn’t want to be here, they called for backup and two other men arrived, pulling Micah off of her. It was excruciatingly slow, and as she watched Micah being dragged away, she finally began to cry. Just as Micah’s torso passed through the vehicle’s detached door, a little while box fell from his pocket. Leah glanced at it before stretching out her arm, fingers brushing over the top of it before managing to pull it into her grasp. Before she had the chance to open it, however, a man spoke to her.
“Can you get out on your own, miss, or is the front of the car still too far in?”
Leah finally got to look at what the scene in front of her looked like. Now that Micah’s form wasn’t blocking it, she could see everything clearly. More clearly than she’d ever wanted it to be. It appeared that the airbag had been ruptured shortly after being deployed, for a jagged piece of metal, no doubt from the front of the car, was sticking through it, coated in blood. Leah’s eyes widened as she looked down at her legs, which were numb from lack of being moved. On her once-marbled-white-grey jeans were blotches of crimson. Leah froze, her throat catching, making it nearly impossible to breathe. The man must’ve seen the look of pure horror on her face, for he moved away and began talking. His low voice came to Leah’s ears only as undistinguishable mumbles. Before she could even think about moving, a few of the men came back and helped remove the door completely, one of them reaching in as far as he could, managing to undo Leah’s seatbelt and pull her gently out of the car, carrying like she was porcelain and would break at a single touch. When he put her on her feet, he made sure to keep his hands on her firmly enough that she wouldn’t fall.

Leah turned her face away from Eric for a second, mentally squaring herself before deciding it was best not to create awkward situations. Especially not in enclosed spaces, like this. Without really knowing her boundaries, from lack of human interaction, Leah cleared her throat and asked quietly, “Umm…are…you okay? You…look pretty beaten up.” Leah frowned, “I’m sorry. You don’t have to answer that. I…errr…nevermind.” Leah distracted herself by taking her hairband out and running her fingers through her sopping wet, multi-colored hair.

[Spritz]

Eric helped Leah crawl in under the playground, trying to get her out of the freezing cold rain before she was soaked. It was probably already too late for that though, the freezing downpour had only gotten worse and the temperature seemed much colder then before. Leah’s quiet voice made his dark eyes flit to hers for a minute, then he turned his head away from her, glad that their hiding place was very dimly lit.
Eric touched his swollen cheek and winced, shrugging slightly. “Oh… It’s nothing, I’m fine.” He smiled at her. “I’m sorry I held you up. You probably didn’t want to get stuck in the rain, huh.”

He tried to make some sort of conversation to lighten the mood, feeling awkward. Maybe it hadn’t been a good idea to introduce himself after all, she probably hated him right now. A shiver ran up Eric’s spine and he bit his lip discretely to keep his teeth from chattering. He didn’t want to go back. Anything was better then going back home. There had been many times he’d thought about running away, trying to find somewhere else to stay, but the right time had never come. There was really no place to go. But now that he was eighteen, legally, he could leave whenever he wanted, and the plan was to go as soon as he graduated. Take whatever money he had earned from his job and get out of here, and never come back. Eric sighed slightly, leaning back, his shoulders hunched. He didn’t know what to think right now, he felt overwhelmed.

But instead of focusing on what he didn’t understand, Eric decided that this time, even if it was just a few minutes, he wanted to spend with a beautiful girl. He wanted to get to know her the best he could in the shortest time. Maybe she was a way out. Who knew? Leah looked like she was freezing, her sweatshirt was soaked and her long, colorful hair was drenched. It didn’t take more then a moment for Eric to unzip his hoodie, stripping down to his white t-shirt and holding it out to her. “Here, take it. You look really cold.” He smiled, tossing it over to her and crossing his strong arms across his chest, leaning back against one of the metal poles that supported the playground. "I've never seen you before at the highschool." He commented quietly, running a hand through his soft black hair and focusing his dark eyes on her. "Do you go there?"

[Greed]

Leah gladly took Eric’s help getting under the playground equipment. After she asked the question and fiddled with her hair, she pulled out her phone encased in a grey, skull-covered cover, making sure it wasn’t completely destroyed by rain. Thankfully, that oddly-designed case had kept it dry for the most part, protecting the phone from getting water in it and completely destroying it. Leah, instead of putting it back in her pocket, set the phone down beside one of her knees, the headphones still wrapped securely around its width. Leah watched him with interested eyes, frowning when she vaguely saw him wince in the darkness, but she decided if that’s the answer he gave her, when it so obviously wasn’t true, it was a matter she shouldn’t press. If he didn’t want to talk about it, he didn’t want to talk about it. Besides, they were technically strangers. She didn’t have the right to pry into personal parts of his life…at least…not yet. Leah frowned at that thought. What did she mean ‘not yet’? Of course… Leah knew perfectly well what she meant. For some reason, Leah didn’t want this to be a one-time thing, them sitting and talking, even if their conversation as of yet was dull and rather awkward. No…she wanted it to be something more than that. Maybe…just maybe he could be her friend. Or maybe more. Leah didn’t know. But what she did know was that being around him gave her butterflies in her stomach, even if it didn’t make a single sliver of sense.

Trying to distract herself from confusing herself further with her complicated thoughts, Leah looked around. This playground… she sighed, not bothering to mask it. He’d followed her because he’d seen her crying, so hiding it now would just be plain stupid. It didn’t mean she was going to tell him anything if he asked…but…what was the point in hiding it if she’d already decided earlier not to hide it, thinking nobody else was around? Leah looked out at the playground, imaging a time when things were better, when she was happier, when her family life was much better, and she wasn’t treated like an indentured servant. But…even those good memories faded to black when she really stopped to think about it all…the memories that haunted her to this very day.

When he put her on her feet, he made sure to keep his hands on her firmly enough that she wouldn’t fall. Leah was glad he did, because her knees were weak, and she still couldn’t feel her legs from her knees down.
“Can you stand on your own?” He asked gently, intentionally facing her away from the car so she couldn’t look at it anymore. Leah couldn’t do any more than shake her head “no,” and the man simply nodded and lead her over to the edge of an ambulance and hoisting her onto the back of it, letting her sit there. “We’ve contacted your parents, and they should be here shortly.” Leah snapped back to reality, fear replacing the despair in her eyes almost instantly. Her parents!? They had loved Micah…and she’d dare to say they loved him more than they loved her. What would they say when the found out Micah…was…when…
What would they do when they were told he was dead?
But Leah couldn’t say anything in protest. Even if she had been able to speak, what would she say? Looking down, Leah fingered the little white box in her hands before slowly opening it, terrified about what would be inside, even if she knew it was nothing harmful. What she did see, however, killed her. On the inside of the box was written in the most wonderful golden cursive,
To the love of my life, Leah Victoria Meyer, a promise ring. A ring is a circle, and circles never end. Let this ring be a promise to the both of us that one day it’ll be replaced by a ring said along with vows, and with the words, “I do.” – Micah
Leah’s first thought was ‘how expensive was it to have this done?’ but when she saw the little silver ring inside, she forgot about that. Clearly chiseled very carefully onto its surface was the word ‘promises.’ Tears flooded out of Leah’s eyes, falling onto the soft white pillow that the ring rested in, and rolling down the sides of the leather box, collecting in a pool in the palm of her hand.

Leah was brought out of her thoughts by a hoodie as equally wet as her own was handed to her. Leah couldn’t help but smile. It really was just as wet as hers, and probably just as cold, as well. But the gesture was a kind one, so Leah accepted it with a nod of her head, “Thanks.” Leah quickly slipped it on and zipped it up, snuggling down until her mouth was partially covered underneath the collar lining of the jackets. Surprisingly, even though they were both wet, it was a bit warmer having two jackets on as opposed to one. When Eric asked if she went to the local high school, Leah frowned. “No… my… parents… Umm, well they homeschool me. Occasionally.” Leah shrugged. “Do you go there, then?” Leah asked in return, turning her eyes to glance at the mysterious (and not to mention attractive…) boy beside her. Really Leah… how did you get yourself into this situation? Shouldn’t it be awkward sitting underneath playground equipment with a handsome young man that you’ve just met? Leah groaned inwardly. Ugh. Ma and Pa are going to freaking kill me when I get back… I hope the rain stops soon… I can’t stay out too late, or they really will kill me. Deciding not to think about the negative aspect of staying out with this boy, Leah focused on the positive aspect of it all. He was super cute, and his mannerisms were really quite adorable, and that made her smile. She hadn’t smiled in a while, either. So the pros outweighed the cons. At least, in the now, they did.

[Spritz]

The dark eyed boy watched Leah quietly, grateful that she had taken his hoodie. He felt strangely protective over her, which was very odd since he hardly knew her. Still, he didn't question it and decided to let his feelings take him wherever they went, and to just.. 'go with it' for the time being. It was way too soon to be saying that he liked her, after all, he hardly knew her, but he couldn't deny that there was some sort of unusual spark that he felt every time he looked at her. He couldn't help but admire the way she looked, the way she talked, the way she carried herself. Leah seemed like the kind of girl that had been through a lot. Eric had noticed it the first time he had seen her. She was like a puzzle and he felt like he just had to figure her out. It felt natural talking to her, even though Eric was pretty sure it was awkward and boring to her, but for him, it had always been hard to talk to strangers and this was the best he had ever done.

He stretched, his muscles flexing under his shirt, cocking his head to the side and smiling at her. "That'd be awesome. You're lucky, really. High school is pretty much a place filled with bullshit and lies." He frowned, quiet for a second, then continued. "I'm almost done with it though. A few more months and I'll be gone. I'm planning on leaving... I have no idea where to yet. I guess it'll come to me when the time is right. But anyway I'm not going to stick around for too much longer. What about you? Any big plans?" He smiled, running a hand through his messy black hair, dark eyes twinkling slightly. He tried to stay focused. The more he saw her, the better she looked, and secretly, Eric felt grateful for the storm.

The rain had started to let up, and now, the gentle patter of the drops on top of the play set made Eric glance outside. His face broke into a smile, and crawled closer to the doorway, waving Leah over to come and see. "It's beautiful, isn't it?" Everything outside was wet, the trees, the grass, everything was glistening soothingly. The angry grey thunderclouds had moved on, and hard parted to reveal a stunning sunset. Shades of pink, orange, and yellow were streaked across the sky, and the bright fiery sun was sinking slowly back into the horizon. The birds had come out of their hiding places and now chirped and sang their goodnight songs to eachother, thunder softly rumbled in the back ground, moving on and away, and Eric turned to face Leah. "It's amazing how something like that thunderstorm can create something like this isn't it?" He smiled at her, his dark eyes glimmering, then crawled out.

[Greed]

Leah shifted slightly as he talked about all the big plans he had… the plans to move away. In all honesty, Leah didn’t know why it bugged her so much to hear him say that. She couldn’t control him, they’d just met! And even if they had known each other forever, Leah wasn’t one to believe in controlling people so infinitively that they couldn’t live their lives the way they wanted to…in that aspect, she was far from her parents. Leah felt her heart pang with longing and a twang of jealousy when he talked about high school. She really, really wanted to go to high school. She wanted to know what it was like to go to homecoming, to go to prom, to know what it felt like to graduate. She wanted to experience what it was like, but alas…she couldn’t. Leah felt her heart sink somewhere down near her stomach. He was lucky. He just didn’t realize it. Leah could understand that. Leah frowned, “No…I want to go to high school. I’d rather…be fueled with ‘bullshit and lies’ rather than live the life I’m living. When I said occasionally… I meant…” Leah frowned. How could she word it in a way that didn’t make her parents seem like total assholes, even if that’s really what they were? Leah sighed, “I meant my parents sometimes just don’t teach me. They have better things to be doing most of the time, anyways. Like work…and…watching TV with my brothers and sisters.” Leah shrugged gently. “I’m used to it by now. I just do chores and get education when it’s convenient for my ma and pa.” Leah said it lightly, as if it didn’t bug her at all, but in reality, Leah hated it. She hated her siblings. She hated her parents. They used her to do all their chores like she wasn’t even a human being. And her parents didn’t even give her the benefit of education, so one day she could go off and do what she wanted…and be out of their hair for good. But then again…why would they do that? They’d lose their personal maid, and that’d sure be a loss to their sorry asses.

Leah looked over at him, and when he smiled, she couldn’t help but smile as well, butterflies flying crazily around in her stomach once more, her heart lifting just a bit higher. Leah didn’t want to lie to him…but she didn’t want him to worry, either. What was she supposed to say to that? Leah realized she’d waited a minute or two, probably staring right at him, but lost in thought and not realizing it. Finally, Leah let out a deep breath and shrugged, “I don’t make the plans,” she state quietly. “My pa does, for the most part, and ma just has me do chores. It’s not likely I’ll be leaving this place anytime soon. Maybe never. My older brother wants to be a doctor, though…if that’s relevant…” Leah smiled sheepishly at Eric, running her fingers through the lower part of her hair, bringing it to hang over her shoulder gently. “But, one day, I really…I wanna be a veterinarian someday. I haven’t gotten the proper education, though, so it’s not likely I’ll get into that career, but it is a nice dream to help me sleep at night.” For some reason, even when talking about this would usually make Leah depressed beyond all reason, sharing it with Eric made it feel like the world was finally being lifted off of her shoulders, and she didn’t have to be so crushed underneath it. Even if he didn’t understand her family situation…at least she finally had someone to share it with…someone who cared. It made Leah smile lightly.

Leah was secretly grateful when the rain started to lighten up, not because she wanted to leave Eric – because in all reality, she wished it stormed all night, so they could just stay there talking – but because her ma and pa were going to kill her if she got home too much later. She had to do the dishes and set the table for dinner… Leah highly doubted that they even knew where the silverware was. Leah stuffed her phone in the pocket of Eric’s jacket (that she had totally forgotten was his) and crawled over to the edge of where they were sitting, looking out at the sky, as rain gently pitter-pattered down on the ground still. Leah looked at the beautiful scenery for a second and made a quiet “Mhm,” noise in response to his question, before turning and looking at him. How nice it was to see…someone who enjoyed the world. Like Micah had… Leah’s heart dropped again. How could she be comparing this boy to Micah already? No, no, no, Leah. Back it up, girl. You’re not falling for another guy again. Ma and Pa will just make him officially the son they never had and shut you out more than they already have now. Leah shook her head to clear her thoughts before realizing Eric was smiling at her. She gave him a tentative smile back before nodding. “It is… It’s a great feeling knowing that the calm always comes after the storm.” Leah crawled out from underneath their crawlspace as well and took out her phone.

“Umm… it was really nice meeting you, Eric,” Leah said quietly, offering him a shy smile. “But I have to get home… my parents will be needing me very shortly to…help…with dishes and stuff. But…I was wondering… if I could…err, you’re your number? We could talk then. I don’t get out much, so the likelihood that this will happen again is slim. If I have your number at least we could stay in touch…right?” Leah blushed slightly, not understanding why, but she did want Eric’s number. She wanted to see him again, even if it meant her parents yelling at her for ‘sneaking out without their permission.’

[Spritz]

Crawling out from under the playground Eric stood up, brushing the wood chips from his wet jeans. He stepped back to give Leah the space to crawl out, his heart pounding. Why was he nervous though? There were so many questions today that had gone through his mind. Questions about himself, about Leah, about his life. Things that he hadn't dared to think about in years. Things that had been trapped inside of his head. For the first time in a long time, he felt happy and relieved. The feeling was so... good. It felt great. How could a stranger effect him so much? And just by sitting there and talking with her for a few minutes? Eric beamed, his first genuine smile in a long, long time. His heart felt light and the usual dragging feeling of depression seemed to have vanished, at least for the moment. He needed to know more about this girl, there was something so special about her and he didn't know what it was, but Eric was determined to find out. He found that right now, he felt that he didn't need to be afraid any longer.

"I'd really like to see you again, Leah." Eric could feel his cheeks heating up a bit and hoped she wouldn't notice, but as if she knew what he was thinking, Leah asked him for his number."This is new. I have a pretty girl asking me for my number. Usually, its the other way around." He playfully grinned at her, then reached out and snatched her phone out of her pocket. His fingers brushed her hip slightly as he took it- the second time he had touched her. Eric's heart skipped a beat and started to thump wildly, making him blush furiously. He quickly cleared his throat and softly apologized. This was definitely weird.
Eric quickly entered his number into his contacts and smiled at her. "It was really nice to meet you too." His eyes lingered on hers, a quiet, content look in their unique depths. "And... let me know if you need anything. "He slid the slim phone back into her pocket, avoiding touching her this time but wishing that he could again. "Just text me later... okay?"

With that he turned around and started down the sidewalk, his muddy converse splashing in the puddle's that the storm had created. A smile played on his lips and he had to refrain from turning around and looking behind him, but was content to replay the events of the day. Something had changed, and even though he didn't know what it was, he liked it.

[Greed]

Leah smiled gently. She wanted to see him again, too. She really, really did. It made absolutely no sense to her, but just being around him made her feel like, even if she snuck out to see him again, her parents yelling at her was nothing. Leah enjoyed the feeling she gave him, making her feel as if nothing else mattered. It was like…like Micah. But in the best possible way. He made her feel like she wasn’t completely alone anymore. Leah smiled and let out a quiet laugh that was nearly a giggle, and blushed slightly at his comment, “Pretty?” Leah ran her fingers through her hair in a somewhat nervous fashion, but his comment had made her laugh. She didn’t really know how relationships worked, and she knew this wasn’t a ‘relationship,’ but she’d always heard it was the guys usually making all the moves first. So she supposed his comment was comical because it held truth in it, too. She couldn’t help but wonder if that’s the first time he’d said something like that to a girl or not, though. Leah had been about to pull out her phone to give it to him when he plucked it out of her pocket before she could take it. His fingers brushed lightly over her hip, and Leah felt her face heat up, and she glanced up to accept his quietly muttered apology when she saw his face was as red as hers was. Instead of feeling awkward in having to forgive him, Leah laughed. And it wasn’t a forced laugh this time, either. It was one of the truest laughs she’d ever laughed. He looked cute standing there awkwardly with his face all red. She couldn’t ignore the fact, though, that her heart was racing, even if it was just a tiny, accidental brush of the fingers. Leah felt a little bit ridiculous, but at least…for once, there wasn’t a shadow over her heart.

Leah looked into his eyes, their gazes locked for a second. Leah was searching for something. The look of defeat and pain that had been trapped behind his surprisingly charming eyes was gone. There was no trace of it left, and Leah was glad she’d made someone else happy. At least… she thought it was her that had made him happy. After all… Leah inwardly hit herself. Of course it had been something that had to do with her! She was the only other person here! Leah muttered a small thanks when he slid the phone back into her pocket, this time deliberately making sure he didn’t touch her again. Leah couldn’t help but wish it’d happened again…if only to see the adorable look on his face again. And…maybe…because those sparks it sent down her spine. What was wrong with her?! Leah couldn’t figure it out and thinking about it made her all the more embarrassed…and she didn’t even know why. Eric’s voice brought her back to reality though, which she was glad for. “Huh? Oh… uh, thanks. I will.” Leah smiled gently. Without so much as a goodbye, he turned around and began to walk away. But for some reason, the fact that he hadn’t said goodbye…made Leah feel like they were going to see each other again. She’d been dreading the goodbye, for fear she wouldn’t see him again, but it hadn’t come. And that made her heart soar.

Leah watched him walk away until he was almost out of sight before skipping around and beginning to walk home with a noticeable bounce in her step.

~ * ~ * ~

When Leah walked in the front door, she almost ran into her shorter, but considerably wider, father. His arms were crossed over his bulky chest, his balding brown hair looking noticeably thinner today.

“O-oh,” Leah stammered, “Pa. I was…”

“Where the hell were you, Leah!? Where did you put the damn silverware!?” Leah’s mother, Marissa’s, voice came from somewhere in the kitchen.

“I was going to pick up something for dinner,” Leah lied, “And I realized I forgot my wallet, so I came back to get it…” Leah tried to skirt around her father, who put out an arm and pointed at her jacket.

“Whose jacket is that? It’s certainly not yours.”

Leah’s eyes widened slightly, “Oh...”

“LEAH!” Marissa shouted.

“S-sorry, Pa. Gotta help Ma.”

For the first time in her life, Leah was glad her mother needed her. But now she had a predicament. She had Eric’s jacket. And how could she explain that to her parents?

[Spritz]

By the time that Eric was home, the sun had completely set. Now, the air was chilly and his breath fogged in the darkness. The thin t-shirt that covered his upper half hardly did anything to keep him warm, but for some reason, he was glad he had forgotten to ask for his hoodie back. In a way, it was a great opportunity. The teen checked his phone every few minutes or so on the chilly walk home, but told chided himself for seeming so desperate. Of course she wouldn't text him this early... right? After all she probably had things to do, people to see, but maybe later, when she remembered, she might text him. He smiled at the thought felt warmer just by thinking about her. It was weird, how things had happened. Meeting some stranger in the park to actually making a connection with her. Eric felt as if they were friends, and he hardly knew anything about her. Vet school, huh? She had ambitions. She seemed practical and like quite a wonderful person. He'd just need to crack her open a little more and try to get down that guard he felt she had up. But then again, so did he. Eric was determined to make this thing work out, wherever it took him.

The teen climbed up the front stairs, thankful that there weren't any cars in the driveway. He stooped down, lifted the front mat, and felt around in the darkness for the house key that was hidden in the oh so cliche spot. His mom had always kept it there, convinced that if any robbers showed up, they'd figure it was too easy and wouldn't bother looking under the rug. The thought made Eric smile. He missed her. She had always been that one who had supported him no matter what, the one who was there to protect him and help him and love him. She had made him feel like he could do anything and be anyone. Sometimes, Eric still felt like she was with him. But it wasn't always enough to get him through the troubles he had to face. He shook his head, trying not to think about her any more. It was a very sad and emotional trail of thoughts and right now, it was best not to go down that road.

Eric slid the key into the lock and turned it, hearing the click of the lock being opened, then slipping the key into his pocket. If Mike came home drunk tonight, he'd be locked out and Eric would at least be safe. The dark haired teenager entered the house, kicking off his dirty converse and flicking on the lights, shutting the door behind him and locking it once again. Silence coldly greeted him. The house seemed so empty... It was too big, too void of the things he used to know. He headed to the kitchen, hunting for something to eat. Hunger prodded sharply at his stomach and he opened the fridge, sullenly looking at the various beer bottles, a pickle jar, some mustard, old chinese take out and some moldy cheese. After raiding the kitchen for anything edible, the teen headed up to his bedroom with a bag of lays and a bowl of stale fruit loops.

He couldn't stop thinking about her. Eric checked his phone again, but nothing had changed. Hardly anyone ever texted him. He wasn't very well liked, and he knew it. It didn't bother him much anymore, he was used to it, and was better off alone anyway. But even saying that, there was always times he looked back and wished that things were different, that there was some way he could change things. Sighing, Eric grabbed a handful of the cereal and dropped it into his mouth, laying back on his bed.

[Greed]

Leah had managed to evade her parents after she’d helped set the table and make dinner. Steak for her parents, her two older brothers, and mac’n’cheese for her two little sister. She couldn’t hate her little sisters, even if her mother said that they were better than her, even at their young age. They were too little to know how rude her mother and other family members were. She constantly thanked God that that was the case. She had a big family, and even if it was just two people, the lack of insults was a welcome gift to her. Yet still…Leah kept herself estranged even from the little sisters that were so innocent. Leah had tossed Eric’s jacket on her bed and headed back downstairs, managing to make her father extraordinarily pissed when she said she’d been wearing her jacket the entire time. And of course… because she’d pissed him off, he gave her a list of chores to do. He told her to dust pictures she’d dusted before she’d left the house and met Eric, to put new wood in the fireplace, even though the wood in the fireplace was two days old, it hadn’t been lit once. She took out the trash, the recycling, cleaned up her little sister’s toys, vacuumed the rug in the living room, and after all that, came back only to wash dishes. And of course, her dad, still being pissed, decided she didn’t get the ‘luxury’ of using the dishwasher they had.

“You wash those dishes by hand,” he’d snapped, “Maybe this will help you learn not to disrespect your parents and be a smartass!”

Leah hadn’t complained. She couldn’t complain. She didn’t want to have to do any more chores than she’d already done. All the while, she’d been thinking about Eric and wishing she’d taken her cell out of his hoodie’s pocket and put it in her own when she’d put the hoodie on her bed. She’d been playing that evening over and over in her head, as if it had suddenly become her favorite movie, and she didn’t want to forget a single part, so she continued to hit replay until it would be etched into her brain forever. She even smiled every now and again, getting a look from Liam, and she had the weirdest feeling if he cornered her he was going to bombard her with questions. Leah made sure she did the dishes slowly, because she knew if she rushed it her pa would say they weren’t completely clean and make her come downstairs and clean them all over again. It was nearly ten by the time she finished stacking the last place. Without bothering to note her parents that she’d finished, Leah dashed up the stairs, taking two at a time, nearly tripping at the top of the stairs but managing to catch herself on the railing, one hand on the floor. Pushing herself upright she trotted into her room, closing the door silently behind her, a grin on her face, as if she had her own little secret hidden in her room. And…in a sense, she did.

Leah made sure to lock the door behind her, in case anyone decided to randomly barge in. Making her way to the bed, she picked up Eric’s hoodie and grabbed her phone out of the pocket. She couldn’t help but notice the smell on Eric’s jacket. It smelled…well, like him, Leah supposed. Somewhat timidly, Leah held the jacket up to her nose and breathed in its unique scent, almost nervously, as if Eric would pop into the room at any second and ask her what the hell she was doing. Leah tossed the jacket back onto her bed, plopping onto the bed beside it, grabbing her phone and searching her contacts, and once she found Eric, a smile crossed her lips, but she really didn’t know why. Turning her phone on its side so the keyboard got longer, she began to text him. She did feel bad for waiting so long, though.

Hey! Sorry it took me so long. Accidentally ticked off my dad and he made me do some chores. I’m done now though! And I have your hoodie. Do you wanna come over and pick it up? We could hang out a little bit, too…and this time, not get wet. ^_^

[Spritz]

Something annoying.... something roused Eric a bit, and he groaned, grabbing his pillow and slapping it over his head, mouth hanging open a bit and his long lanky body tangled up in the sheets. He heard it again. Grumbling, the groggy teen fished out his vibrating phone from under his stomach, throwing it to the floor and pulling burrowing his face back into the pillow. "Shit!" It hit him like a full blown slap across the face, and in a second Eric had tumbled out of bed, his legs tangled in the sheets that were still attached to the bed, his hair a mess and sticking up in all different directions. He grabbed his phone off the floor and anxiously checked the screen, his heart pounding and cheeks flushed with excitement.

Hey! Sorry it took me so long. Accidentally ticked off my dad and he made me do some chores. I’m done now though! And I have your hoodie. Do you wanna come over and pick it up? We could hang out a little bit, too…and this time, not get wet. ^_^

Eric flopped back onto the floor, a lazy grin on his face. So, she had texted him. He didn't even care that it took so long, the point was that she had texted him and that meant she wanted to see him again right? Eric did a double take at the screen, reading and re-reading the text message over again. Was she trying to be funny? Or... Did she actually want him to come over? He'd never been good at understanding girls, but if she was serious... this might just be a great night. Picking up his phone with slightly shaky fingers, Eric leaned back against his bed, sitting cross legged on the floor, texting Leah back slowly.

It's okay. I'm glad you did, when you got the chance. And yeah, I know. I hope it kept you warm on the way home. I'd love come over, but I dont know where you live, remember?

Eric nervously sent it, hunching his shoulders and biting nervously at his nail. He untangled himself from the sheets and stood up, running his fingers through his hair and trying to calm his racing heart.

[Greed]

Leah’s bed seemed more comfortable than normal, but she found she couldn’t doze. Nope… her heart was all worked up and she felt like she’d just run a marathon. She just wasn’t…gross and sweaty. Leah glanced up at the white of her ceiling, wondering if he’d actually want to come over. She’d been seriously asking if he wanted to, but it’d kind of been on a whim…probably on a whim that she wanted desperately to see him again. She hadn’t thought about how to get him in the house yet, though. That was one minor detail she’d overlooked. But she really wanted to see him again, so she’d work something out. There was the extension of the rain gutter right outside her window… maybe it was possible that he could climb that? If he wasn’t too heavy, that was. But he wasn’t fat. Leah slapped her forehead with the butt of her palm. What the heck was she thinking!? Leah rolled over on her stomach and nearly screamed into her pillow. She felt like an idiot. Leah nearly fell off her bed when her phone buzzed right next to her head. She’d forgotten she’d put it on her pillow so she wouldn’t lose it in the mess of bed sheets she hadn’t bothered to make. She’d done enough of making beds that day with her other siblings’ and her parents’ beds. Leah cursed herself quietly for being so jittery. She flipped her phone into her hand, quickly punched in the passcode, and read the text message. Leah blushed slightly when she realized he knew that she had her jacket. Ooh, that was smooth, Eric. Really smooth. Leah brushed some of her brightly colored hair out of her face before replying.

Oh you’re sneaky! I see what you did there now. :P And yeah… that might be helpful. I’m half tempted to make you find me yourself now!

Leah stuck her tongue out at her phone, as if it was Eric himself. She waited a couple of minutes, deciding to taunt him a little bit, and kicked her feet in the air like a love-struck puppy or something. She felt absolutely giddy. After about five minutes of waiting, Leah decided she’d tell him where she was. She wanted to see him badly, so why prolong the wait?

1431 Ashton Court. You can’t come in the front door though. My Ma and Pa…well…they don’t really like me, and they don’t like me having a social life even more. So if you come… there’s a back door! Use the back door. It’s not really in the back, though, It’s on the side of our house. It’s never locked, and it leads into the garage. I’ll wait for you down there, but you have to be /silent/.

Leah sent the text and then laid back on her bed, her smile finally gone, wondering how he was going to get up into her room. Suddenly her mind wandered to the fact she hadn’t taken a shower after being drenched. …Processing… Leah’s eyes widened and she bolted upright in bed, jumping off her queen-sized bed and nearly tripping on her bed cover that had fallen too far off to one side. She probably looked like a mess! Leah threw her dirty hoodie into the dirty clothes basket that stood by her closet door and rushed into the bathroom that was right next to it. Leah looked in the mirror.

“BLAH!” Leah snapped. Her hair looked like a rat’s nest (well, that was a bit dramatic, but to her she thought it looked horrid) and her makeup was still smeared slightly underneath her eyes. She didn’t have time for a full shower, so as fast as she possibly could, Leah turned on her sink and got her hair wet before tossing it over her shoulder, managing to spray water on the shower cover behind her, and soaking her shirt for the second time that day. Leah quickly ran a brush through her hair, cursing vividly every time she pulled too hard on a tangle. Leah quickly wiped away her makeup, as well, and applied a thin layer of mascara as the best she could do. And suddenly deciding she didn’t have enough time to dry her hair, Leah ran back into her room and quickly shed herself of her old clothes, stepping into new ones. White shorts with a dark teal tank-top, Leah didn’t bother to think about how short or low-cut either they were. Slipping into her slippers, Leah unlocked her door silently and tiptoed down the stairs, skipping the third stair from the bottom, knowing that was the one that creaked the loudest. As quiet as possible, Leah snuck around the family room and unlocked the door that lead into the garage from the outside and closed it silently behind her, walking to the “back door” that came into the garage from the outside and slumped against the wall, blowing a strand of bright blue hair out of her face and waiting for Eric to arrive.

[Spritz]

Eric frowned at the mirror. He'd never had a reason to look... nice, on purpose at least, and now he was stuck. He wasn't sure what this was supposed to be. Were they just hanging out, or doing... what, exactly? Sighing loudly, Eric turned the water on and stuck his hand in the stream, dampening his hair with it and dolloping hair gel into his palm. He ran his fingers through his thick black hair, ruffling it and trying to get it to do... something. Hell, he didn't know what girls liked. And he felt weird, really weird for taking more then a few seconds to leave the house. He wanted to see her as quickly as possible, but... he also wanted to make a generally good second impression. Wouldn't want her changing her mind about him.

Eric shook his head, deciding that whatever he had managed to do with himself was good enough. He quickly threw on a new, clean pair of jeans(since the ones he was wearing still had mud all over them) and a warm navy blue hoodie with a white t-shirt underneath. Eric snatched his phone up in a second when it buzzed, his eyes quickly scanning the message. Not sure how to reply to it, he frowned, thumbs hovering over the keyboard and doing that little dance that everybody's fingers do when they don't know what to say. Honestly, he would find her, if she wanted him to.

I'm sure i'd find you. I'd search every house, if I had to. I reaallly need that hoodie, you know. (;

Even if she didn't tell him where she was, Eric was sure that he'd find her before the night was over. That was how much he wanted to see her. Leah texted him again, giving him her exact address. He sighed in relief, totally understanding where she was coming from.

Silent. I wont make a sound. You underestimate me. See you in a few.

Eric grinned and shoved his phone into his pocket, flipping his hood up over his head and opening his bedroom door. On his way out of the house he flicked off all the lights, locking the door behind him and making sure he had the spare key in his pocket. He opened the garage and climbed into his car, the engine having to turn over a few times before starting loudly and grumpily. The vehicle was old and a bit battered, but it still drove and Eric backed it out of the garage and took off down the road, a smile on his face.

Of course, when Eric reached Leah's house, he drove back around and parked a few blocks away, out of sight and next to the most horrid smelling dumpster he could have picked. Wrinkling his nose, he climbed out. It only took him a few short minutes to jog down the road to her house, and very quietly, he spied the door that Leah was talking about. In his head he could almost hear the theme song of 'Mission impossible" playing, and he had to admit, this whole thing was quite the adventure.

Glancing around him, Eric was glad the darkness hid just about everything. There were several houses next door, but all of them had their lights off and seemed quiet. In the back of the neighbors house, a rottweiler slept, chained to a stake. He moved towards the door, stealthily, then laid his hand on the handle, just as he stepped on a twig. The wood snapped sharply, and the neighbors dog next door started to bark wildly, growling and snarling and trying to get off its chain in the backyard. Lights flicked on, and quickly, Eric opened the door and slipped inside, knocking into a body with full force. He grunted as they both went tumbling to the floor, swearing under his breath. "What the hell is going on-" He grabbed his phone and the screen lit up, illuminating Leah's face under his in the darkness. Cussing again in surprise, his facial expression turned into one of shock. Eric could feel her slim body under his, and he felt a red hot blush burn into his cheeks. "Oh shit, Leah. I'm so sorry." He rolled off of her, giving her an apologetic smile that she probably couldn't even see in the darkness. "Sorry. I'm a dumbass."

[Greed]

Leah leaned against the wall, her eyes having finally adjusted to the darkness of the garage. She’d been pacing a little bit before, afraid she should’ve dried her hair, or worn something different, until she’d hit her knee on the tire covering of the car and decided to quit pacing. It wasn’t good for her health. He wasn’t good for her health, for God’s sake. She was going crazy, like a chicken with its head cut off. Why did it matter how good or bad she looked? Leah smacked her palm into her forehead. Of course it matted! Of course it did!! She didn’t want to look like a complete bum in front of a really…really…really attractive guy! Leah sighed. She had issues, and she needed help. So...much…help. When she’d gotten his text that he’d search every house if he had to, Leah had blushed. Now that was some determination right there. And it was so cute, too. Leah could just picture him going door to door like a boy scout, “Is Leah here?” or “Have you seen a girl that has really bright blue and purple hair?” The thought had sent Leah into a giggle fit and she’d been forced to bite her lip so hard it’d brought tears to her eyes to make sure her parents – or brother – didn’t hear her and come snooping. Leah had also smiled at the winking face he had put beside his latest text. She’d rolled her eyes and inwardly thought, ‘Really? You reallllly need this sweatshirt?’ But still…it had made Leah smile like a fool. But…smiling was smiling. So she couldn’t complain.

After whacking her knee on the rusty old car, Leah had sat down for a while. But after a while Leah had stood up again, idly playing with her hair by twirling it around her fingers, so some of the strands began to dry with a slight curl to them, which was unusual for her naturally stick-straight hair. Leah was beginning to wonder if something bad had happened to Eric and had begun to pace again, ignoring the fact that, with her luck, it was incredibly likely she’d run into the car again, even if she knew how close she was to it, this time. Leah grimaced. Running into parked cars. Her specialty. But before Leah could run into the car again, she ran into something else. Or rather, that something else ran into her. Leah let out a small squeak as she hit the floor, and nearly kneed the culprit where it counted, but decided against it. She cursed quietly under her breath when someone shone a phone light in her face, totally destroying her eyesight in the dark which she had finally acquired. But it didn’t take long for her to realize who it was that had landed on top of her. Leah could feel her face heating up and she was thanking every god she’d ever heard of that it was dark in the garage, because otherwise she knew her face would’ve looked like a tomato. Leah immediately sat up when she felt the weight roll off of her, Eric’s voice apologizing avidly beside her. She would’ve laughed, knowing his face was probably as red as hers, if she hadn’t been so shocked, or so incredibly… she didn’t even know how to describe it. Earlier that day their hands had touched, and that had been enough to send shivers down her spine. And now he ran right into her, and landed right on top of her. Leah felt her face heating up again.

After a few minutes, Leah got her bearings and let out a deep breath, “Shit, you scared me,” Leah managed to say before feverishly adjusting her shirt for no apparent reason. “Ah…” Leah stuttered for a second, before letting out a little, somewhat nervous laugh. Deciding to tease him a little bit to try and take her mind off of the fact she knew her face was still red as a tomato, she commented, “That…was quite an entrance there.” Leah scratched her head, running her fingers through her hair that was mostly dry by now. “Are you all right?” Leah laughed a little bit. Oh, how comical it was, in her mind. What a great way to start out a little get-together type thing with a super attractive guy. What better way to start it off than by being pinned underneath him for thirty seconds or so? Yep…no better way than that. Slowly, Leah got up, her face having cooled down quite a bit. “Umm…let’s go inside. Try not to trip and fall on me, or run into anything,” Leah added in jest. She had a feeling she’d come back to this for a joke for a while. With that, Leah skirted around the car and headed to the door leading into the house and waited for Eric to join her.

[Spritz]

Eric grimaced, knowing that he had totally destroyed his entrance. He'd wanted to sneak in and surprise her- he had succeeded with the surprise effect, but not so much on the sneakyness. Feeling his face burn with embarrassment, the teen cleared his throat, his heart pounding. He tried desperately to get the feeling of her body out of his head, it was distracting him and right now, it wasn't a good thing to be thinking about. "Shit, you scared me!!" He jested half heartedly, but couldn't keep a lopsided grin off of his face as his eyes adjusted to the darkness. "I'm fine, are you okay? God... This is embarrassing. I probably totally ruined my entrance, huh?" His heart was still pounding and Eric wished that he could rewind time. This was definitely in his top ten most embarrassing moments.

"Sure. Let's go." The teen frowned at Leah when she teased him, scrambling off of the cold concrete floor and following her closely. When they reached the door, Eric standing behind her, he could smell her hair and wanted more then anything to touch her. He bumped into her in the darkness, his hand brushing her lower back- but maybe, this time, it wasn't that much of an accident. Her tank top had ridden up a little and his fingers jumped as her warm smooth skin came in contact with them, and his heart started to race all over again. Eric quickly withdrew his hand, but didn't bother to apologize this time. A happy warmth had spread through his body and he shook his head, awed at what was happening to him. He'd never really felt this way... whatever it was.

[Greed]

[ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qC9rJZKUAPg ]

Leah ran a hand through her hair again, for the millionth time that day. He was making her create her own little nervous habit! At least it wasn’t something unattractive like biting her nails or fidgeting uncontrollably. Leah stopped for a second, her fingers halfway through her long bright cyan and purple tresses. What did he find attractive, anyways? Maybe he thought her playing with her hair was just weird. Leah hadn’t thought about it from that angle before, and it bothered her to a point where she was determined to try and not be so nervous around him. After all…why should she be nervous anymore, when the likelihood he might just trip and fall on top of her seemed to become an event that wasn’t going to not be repeated again. It wasn’t as though Leah was expecting it to happen again… Leah frowned mentally. He drove her mind into a fit of crazy thoughts. What was with her today? What was it about this mysterious boy, whom, by what she’d calculated about his age earlier, was only a year older than she was? Leah, not being able to help it, ran her fingers through her hair once more before pulling it timidly behind her ear. She tried not to laugh too loudly when he said she’d scared him. She could say the exact same thing to him, as well. She had definitely not expected that. And just thinking about it made her all…fluttery, she could say, inside. Leah nodded, whether or not he could see her, and replied, “Yeah, I’m fine. That…was just a little surprising.” Leah tilted her head and offered a sideways smile, her face having cooled down a lot, but still she could feel a hot blush on the apples of her cheeks. “And it was an entrance, to say the least.” Leah laughed quietly.

When they reached the door, Leah had looked inside through the very tiny window that was on the top middle of the door, making sure nobody was near the door, when she felt Eric bump into her. She jumped slightly, almost unnoticeably, when she felt his skin against hers on her lower back. Leah felt her face heat up again and was glad she was facing forward so Eric couldn’t see it. Not sure how else she should, or could, react, Leah pretended not to notice. But, oh, she’d definitely noticed it all right. This time, Leah didn’t hear a feverishly muttered apology, and Leah guessed it was one of two things. One, he didn’t want to be too noisy, or two…well… maybe it hadn’t really been an accident. But that thought only made Leah’s face flush even more and she faltered for a second before quietly opening the door and stepping inside. Leah waited for Eric to come inside before closing the door as quietly as she could and clicking the lock. Leah did her best to then scoot past him without touching him in the narrow hallway to show him the way to her bedroom. Not that she didn’t want to… but the light was on in the hallway, and she knew if she started blushing now, there would be absolutely no way for her to hide it.

As soon as they reached the stairs, Leah stopped and leaned closer to him, pointing to the third stair and whispered to him, “Skip that stair, it’s really creaky and makes a lot of noise when you step on it.” With that, Leah went on ahead of him, delicately tiptoeing over the third stair before waiting at the top of the stairs, hearing her parents and siblings shuffling around downstairs. Their TV show must’ve ended. Leah was glad her room was the closest to the stairs. It meant not having to run fanatically down the hallway to get to it. Leah, lost in her thoughts for a minute, rolled her eyes and smiled gently. What was she doing anyways? Inviting a strange boy into her room to give him his jacket back? Why would she go through all this trouble tonight, if it was much less…dangerous…to do it tomorrow? Leah refrained from scratching the side of her head in wonderment, her eyes flitting back over to the dark-haired teenager that was coming up the stairs towards her. You’re weird, Leah thought quietly to herself, But I think I like it.

[ Here's another song I like. Kinda random, kiiiinda fits the RP, but kinda doesn't. Just thought I'd share anyways as a little footnote xD https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=endscreen&v=XV81bvG-oK0&NR=1 ]

[Spritz]

Eric half expected Leah to turn around and slap him across the face, but she didn't. In fact, he noticed her falter a bit, her breathing change, her body stiffening. Or maybe, that was just his hopeful imagination playing tricks on him. Either way, it gave him hope. He forced all of those thoughts out of his head, saving them until later when he had some time to think. He felt like he was being swept away in a tide of emotions and didn't want to get lost right now. Now Leah stood on her tiptoes and peeped through the window in the door, and the boy was struck with how... cute she was. Really, everything she did made him smile, her little quirks and the way she smiled at him and constantly fiddled with her hair. He slipped into the house behind her, dark eyes blinking momentarily to get used to the light. Leah locked the door behind them and skirted past him.

Eric noticed that she made sure not to touch him, and his interest was fueled, a smile growing on his lips as she started sneaking up the stairs, warning him about the third one and nimbly jumping over it, like she'd done it thousands of times before. Quickly, he followed her, glancing down the hall to where he heard a few voices talking. It must have been her family, and in a way, he wanted to meet them- but Eric quickly realized that was a big deal for someone he had just met a few hours previous. It was a big deal that she had even invited him into her house, and he was lucky to get this far. Turning his eyes back onto the stair case, he followed quietly behind Leah, focusing on making sure he didn't trip instead of leah's body right in front of him, like he really wanted to. He blushed and quickly turned his eyes to his feet, his heart racing.

Eric quickly joined Leah at the top of the stairs, pushing off his hood and grinning at her. "Do you sneak around like this all the time?" He elbowed her gently and playfully, his dark eyes watching her face carefully. Her cheeks looked a little pink and he wondered if he had anything to do with it. Eric was glad that his tan skin might hide his own blush just a little bit better. His eyes glimmered mischievously and he grinned. "Well then, lead the way."

[Greed]

The closer they got to her bedroom, the more Leah realized she was totally embarrassed about the fact it was a complete mess. She’d tossed her dirty clothes everywhere near the closet and hadn’t even made her bed. The bathroom door was probably wide open, full of towels and little washrags she used for odd jobs of cleaning around her house. Oh how attractive that would be. Leah pulled her tank top down a little to avoid any more…situations that’d cause her to blush. She could still feel a small heat in her cheeks, but it was dying down slowly, which she was thankful for. Leah had brought herself out of her thoughts for a second, looking at Eric, who appeared to have a slight blush on his cheeks, but she couldn’t be sure in the slightly dimmed lighting from old light bulbs, and the darker shade of his skin. Inwardly, Leah cursed her light complexion. If she truly blushed a lot, it would be like someone drew all over her cheeks with red sharpie. Attractive.

Leah smiled sheepishly at his comment and shrugged, “I do when I’m skirting chores.” And Leah didn’t get to do that often, so she’d beaten all the creaky floorboards’ placings, all the creaky stairs in the house and their locations, just so she could make a hurried escape when she got the chance. She could be a robber for God’s sake, with the sneaking techniques she’d picked up over the years to avoid her parents and Liam. Liam was almost as bad as her parents. It seemed that, on rare occasions, Leah’s parents recognized that she was their blood daughter, whether they liked it or not. Liam, however… He never acted, not once, as if she was his blood sister. He always acted like she was a tool that was easily replaced if lost or broken. To him, she was just his personal maid that happened to be on hand twenty-four-seven. And Leah could hardly do anything about it, either. Leah’s smile widened slightly when he elbowed her playfully. She was happy he was acting so friendly towards her. It was as if they weren’t strangers at all anymore, merely friends that had been close for years. It was weird, and unexplainable, but welcome. To her, at least. And she hoped it was welcome to Eric, as well. When Eric told her to lead the way, she paused for a second, searching the look in his eye. He looked like a true boy, with a mischievous glint in his eyes that she couldn’t understand why it was there.

Leah tiptoed down the hallway and took the door on the first left, resting fully on her feet instead of her toes as she entered, keeping the door open just long enough for Eric to come in, and closed it behind her, locking that door, too. For safety reasons, but she realized it just might seem a little…suggestive. Maybe. Leah felt her cheeks flush and stayed facing the door for a second, taking a centering breath before turning around ruffling her hair slightly, giving Eric a sheepish grin. “Yeah…it’s a mess, I know.” Leah looked around. She felt like it looked like a tornado went through her room. “Hold on just a second.” With that, Leah went to the bathroom and shut that door, then moved quickly over to where she’d discarded her clothes from earlier and shoved them into the teal laundry basket beside the closet, and moving that laundry basket inside her closet, with a tad bit of difficulty. Her closet was full of blankets and pillows she’d kept hidden away in case her parents decided not to give her extra blankets on cold winter nights. Lastly, Leah pulled the covers of her bed just over her pillows, but didn’t bother smoothing out wrinkles or setting the pillows up nice and fancy, like she’d grown accustomed to. Leah shrugged and gave her work one last glance under a critical eye before plopping down on the bed and slinking her foot underneath his hoodie and tossing it at him that way. “There, you sneaky boy, you.” Leah said that, but couldn’t keep a smile off of her face. “That was real smooth. I'm impressed.”

[Spritz]

It was hard to keep his eyes off of Leah. There was just... so much to look at. Her choice of clothing had him questioning if she had meant to look as good as she did, and it was distracting. But Eric wasn't complaining, not in the least. His eyes twinkled and he followed her to the door of her room, slipping inside and glancing around. When she turned and locked the door behind them though, his eyes narrowed suspiciously and he felt a slight twinge of nervousness in his stomach. Deciding it was nothing, Eric turned and looked around.

The room wasn't huge. A twin bed was in the corner, a dresser, a closet, the usual stuff you would find in a bedroom. Clothes were strewn here and there but it reminded him alot of his own room, and couldn't help but grin as Leah rushed around, trying to clean it up. "Did you hear? A tornado was spotted a few days ago... in your room!" He laughed, shaking his head and going over to help her with the laundry basket, which she shoved into the closet, then took off to go make the bed. "Hey, calm down, I don't care about a little mess. You should see my room, it's worse."

Leah flopped down onto the half made bed, and Eric's eyes were drawn to her long smooth legs. He couldn't help himself... her outfit made it hard for him to concentrate. She looked good. At the park, when they met he'd noticed right away how pretty she really was, but now, out of the rain and the cold, she looked twice as good. Totally immersed in his thoughts, Eric jumped when something hit him in his face, stumbling backwards slightly and grabbing the hoodie, snapping back into reality with a crimson blush. What had he been thinking!?

"I really didn't want you to be cold.." Eric shrugged slightly, glancing at her face with an honest smile. "But I did want to see you again, too. It was back up just in case you didn't text me." He grinned and plopped down onto the bed next to her as nonchalantly as possible. "By the way, why did you text me? Honestly, I wouldn't have. After all, because of me, you were stuck in the freezing rain for awhile with a complete stranger- who might I add, was totally creepy and following you." Eric paused, frowning. "But besides all that, I'm really glad you did. I really like you, Leah." After the words slipped out of his mouth, Eric's eyes dropped to the bed and he picked at a loose string, feeling that what he'd just said might make things super awkward between them. "I mean... I'd just like to be your friend, if that's okay with you."

[Greed]

Leah was satisfied once her room had been cleaned to the most minor of degrees. Still, she had a few things lying out of place. Her blue teddy bear that she’d had for ages was strewn across the dull orange couch she and Micah had made when they’d first started going out. The memory brought a faint smile to Leah’s lips as she remembered finishing it with him. It still smelled like her cinnamon-y perfume that she really didn’t wear anymore, but the leather couch had trapped in the scent it seemed and every time someone plopped down on it, it acted like a mini air freshener and sprayed the room with that warm, cinnamon scent.

Leah laughed as she grouped together the necessary materials in one location. Micah stood there, watching her intently. Today was the day they finally finished the bean bag couch. The dull orange leather shell had arrived earlier that morning, and now all the duo had to do now was sew it together over the sack of “beans” they had already assembled. The color of the leather made it look incredibly retro, but Micah couldn’t complain. For whatever reason, Leah picked out the color, and he couldn’t deny her. He’d never been able to say no to her. Anyways, the couch wasn’t going to be anywhere in his house. But in the corner of Leah’s room, snuggly tucked in between the window and TV, it stuck out like a sore thumb. It was the only shade of orange in her entire bedroom. But then again…as long as Leah was happy with it, so was he.
Smiling, Micah said, “Come on! This couch isn’t going to finish itself!”

~ * ~ * ~

Micah plopped down on the couch, resting his head on his arms that he had crossed behind it. Leah gently crawled on top of him, resting her chin on the back of her hands, which she had placed tenderly on his chest. Her cinnamon-y perfume wafted in his general direction and he couldn’t help but smile.
“What?” Leah asked, tapping his nose.
“Nothing, gorgeous,” Micah muttered, craning his neck to plant a gentle kiss on her lips. Leah smiled as Micah toyed with her hair. This time it was a strikingly bright cyan blue with purple. She couldn’t decide what color to get, so Micah had suggested ‘why not both?’ and Leah had thought it had been an amazing idea.
“You’re staring again,” Leah chuckled, “And playing with my hair!”
“Sorry, love. You’re just so gorgeous I can’t keep my eyes off you.”
Leah blushed and murmured, “Oh shut up, you kiss up.”
Micah simply laughed and brushed some of her brightly colored hair behind her ear before pulling her into a heated kiss.

Leah tried her hardest to frown at Eric’s comment, but she ended up laughing along with him. “Oh hush. It was only a minor tornado, the consequence of pure laziness. I made enough beds today, so mine can just deal with it.” Leah chuckled and ran her fingers through her hair, glad Eric had at least helped a little bit with her laundry. She appreciated it. She never got any help doing anything, so having help for once was a welcome change. A very, very welcome change. Leah watched Eric intently as he seemed lost in thinking about…whatever he was thinking about. Leah noticed he was staring at her, though, and she immediately felt a blush return to her face. However, it died down a bit when he gave her reason to laugh. She hadn’t meant to hit him in the face with the hoodie, not at all, but she found it quite comical when it did. Leah rolled her eyes at his excuse.

“Didn’t I tell you when you left? I was going to text you no matter what. My parents just have lots of chores they like me to do, so it took me a while!” Leah added in halfheartedly, but there was still a small smile on her lips. “I…wanted to see you again, too, though. So it worked out fine.” Leah felt a blush redden on her cheeks but she forced herself not to start fiddling with her hair. In the end, however, she failed, and diverted her eyes, twirling a slightly curled strand of hair around her index finger. Leah turned on her side and tucked an arm under her head when he plopped on the bed beside her and furrowed her brows. “Why not? Even if I was being followed, it isn’t like you turned out to be some creepy forty-year old driving a white van…” Leah frowned at her analogy of sorts. “That would’ve been creepy.” Leah smiled gently at his comment. “Yeah… No, it’s fine.” Leah poked his cheek gently, smiling at the blush that had slightly appeared on them. “Hehe, you’re kinda cute,” Leah said, and inwardly face-palmed the moment it left her mouth. “And yeah…I’d like that too,” Leah added in hastily, trying her hardest to change the topic as quickly as possible. Oh…what a great way to start the night.

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