'Who was Leo sitting with?' 'Why did Leo change his seat during the class?' 'Who was I?'
I felt a surge of anxiety rushing through my body. I swear I was going to have a nervous breakdown for sure. I needed to get out of the situation as soon as possible. I squeezed my eyes shut.
"Please, Leo, just leave me alone... please, please," I begged in a hushed tone. I kept my eyes low, on the table, never saw his face, but I felt his stare on me.
He said nothing, just scribbled something on my notepad, and when Mr. Walter was not looking, he simply moved back to his seat. After he went, I sighed with relief but still stressed. People were now gawking at me.
My eye fell on the notebook, and I read what Leo wrote before he left. His phone number and...
'Stop ignoring me, Aries. It really hurts when you do that.'
Now I was hurt.
After the class got over, the bell rang, and I jumped out of my seat and ran out.
I'd skipped my next class and sat under the tree; this was my space, my time out. I made myself comfortable and opened up my book to read. Time passed smoothly without any interruption until...
"So this is where you eat your lunch," a voice startled me. I looked up to find out that the tall figure hovering over me was Leo. Ugh, he found me.
"I had a search party looking for you everywhere." He threw his bag on the grass and was about to sit down.
"And I was just leaving." I closed my book.
"Okay, let's go." He said.
"Are you now just going to follow me like a dog?" I spat annoyingly.
"Ruff." He braked—literally. His response made me raise my eyebrows in surprise. Now I didn’t know how to respond to that?
"I don't understand why you're avoiding me? And it's very rude of you to do that," he said. "Look, I've been bothered, and concerned about your health—about you." He said worriedly.
A wave of happiness spread over me like a blanket on a cold—cold night. His so much care was healing my chafe heart. After granny died, no one showed so much care or paid me so much attention. It was very overwhelming for me.
"I'm okay," I told him.
"Aries," he took a deep breath. "I need to know, why did you attempt to jump out of the car?" He had to ask, didn’t he?
"I wasn't trying to kill myself," I said.
"You think I'm stupid to believe that."
"Look, I was hyperventilating—suffocating in the car. I wanted to breathe the air. I panicked, and instead of opening the window, I accidentally opened the door." I hoped he would believe me. It was, however, partially true.
"I'm deeply sorry for my actions." I looked down at my closed book, feeling guilty. "My intention was not to make you worry." I sighed, dropping my shoulder, feeling really down with the dump.
"I didn't realize you were having trouble breathing in the A/C car?" He asked, giving me a suspicious look. "If you don't want to tell me... I won't bother you if that's what you want, Aries?"
"You don't bother me, Leo, unlike other people. You're very nice to me." I told him to show him how much I valued and appreciated the care he gave me.
For a moment, there was silence. The light breezes made the dry leaves rustle. Usually, I like this sound, but now, in this situation, it sounded slightly scary.
"Oh, before I forget..." he said and pulled out something from his back pocket, "...here."
Leo had a few dollars bills in his palm. I looked at it with confusion.
"It's yours. I got it back from those SOB’s." He snarled.
"What? How? How did you even find them?" I was stunned.
"Doesn't matter how? As long as you got your money back, and that's what matters, right?"
"Did they fight you? Did they hurt you, Leo?" I asked with all my concerns.
"No, I'm not hurt. I'm perfectly fine, Aries." He said, and that made my worries evaporate.
"Leo, I... I don't know what to say. Except for... thank you."
We both stayed silent for a moment. I looked at the money. Leo brought back what had taken away from me.
'Why would someone go to this extreme?' No one had ever done anything like this for me.
"You didn't have to do this? I'd already considered it lost."
"I'll do anything for you, Aries. Anything at all." He promised.
"Why?"
"Because you're mine." He looked straight in my eyes and said. My mouth fell open. I stared at him—speechless.
'Did he just say what I heard, he said?'
Suddenly I became smitten entirely by him. I'd an almost irresistible impulse to hug him, grab his face, and place a kiss on his lips... I shook my head on that thought. 'What is wrong with me? Why was he affecting me so much?' I swallowed hard.
"Well, I'll see you around. Enjoy the rest of your day. Bye." He said, breaking the silence and got up to leave.
"Bye," I said, then opened my book and covered my face with it.
"By the way, you're holding the book upside down." He snorted with laughter.
'Oh, crap.' I cursed under my breath.
He was right. I wasn't reading either. My mind was occupied, thinking of how rude I was with Leo?
When I lowered the book to look at Leo, he had a sweet smile that was still suggestive on his face.
"Smiling makes you look even more beautiful." He complimented me. I felt my whole face heating up as he gazed at me.
"Friday, there's a party at my house, and I would really like it if you could come."
"I don't go to parties." I opened my book again.
"I know, but it would mean a lot if you could come." He sounded hopeful.
"What do you want, Leo?" I sighed and closed my book.
"I'm curious about you." His eyes sparkled with
