𝐇𝐈𝐑𝐀𝐄𝐓𝐇 》 LEO VALDEZ ¹

―two. mystery recruit

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𝐈'𝐃 𝐀𝐏𝐏𝐑𝐄𝐂𝐈𝐀𝐓𝐄 𝐈𝐓 𝐈𝐅
𝐘𝐎𝐔 𝐖𝐎𝐔𝐋𝐃 𝐊𝐄𝐄𝐏 𝐘𝐎𝐔𝐑
𝐇𝐀𝐍𝐃𝐒 𝐎𝐅𝐅 𝐌𝐘
𝐆𝐈𝐑𝐋𝐅𝐑𝐈𝐄𝐍𝐃
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LEO STARTED AT THE NEW RECRUIT, HIS EYES NARROWED IN SUSPICION. Surrounded by a dozen kids his own age, fifteen, sprawled out along the bus that rumbled along a bumpy road, was 'Jodi Tiffany'. Out the windows, desert rolled by under a bright sky. Yet, that wasn't nearly as interesting as the newest member of the Wilderness School. Humming to himself, Leo tilted his head to the side.

He was currently stood in front of his seat, the backs of his knees pressed against the cushioning. The chair next to him was empty, (no one wanted to sit next to the most hyperactive kid on the bus during a two and a half hour drive), and in front sat his two best friends, Piper and Jason. His arms were propped up against Piper's backrest, his fingers idly tracing pictures into the seats odd texture.

''Leo, you're staring,'' Piper whispered, glancing up at him nervously. ''And it's not as subtle as you think it is.''

Leo scoffed, tearing his gaze off of the newbie to look down at her, rolling his eyes. ''I have no idea what you're talking about.''

Piper sighed, moving so she could see the new recruit too. They were female with light brown skin and dark curls that had been pulled up into a half-hearted bun. She wasn't standing or sitting, rather slumped against a window with her feet resting up on the seat next to her as she sat alone ― though, you could argue that that was purposeful as her feet were strategically placed to guard the seat ― but as Leo and Piper had seen her stand before, they knew she was around 5'10'', a whole three inches taller than them as they stood around 5'7''.

Her features were soft, and yet she made them look sharp, a dangerous look in her eyes as she scanned the bus every now and then.

She wore thin, fitted, peg-leg pants that were in a line-checkered grey with green. The bottoms were cuffed up to reveal black Doc Martins that had thick wedges and the waist was secured with a black belt, the buckle silver. Shirt-wise, she wore a long sleeved black turtle neck that tucked into her pants and a short-waisted black denim jacket.

''Now you're staring!'' Leo accused in a low hush.

Piper rolled her eyes. ''Okay, okay. So maybe I am a little bit intrigued.''

''Admit it: you're being nosy.''

Piper remained silent, but she could feel Leo's unwavering stare at the top of her head as he waited for an answer, so it wasn't long until she released a frustrated groan and nodded her head ever so slightly in defeat. ''Alright! I just want to know why she's here, is that so bad?''

''Ha!'' Leo called, gaining a few people's attention, but it was quickly averted when they spotted it was just him. ''I knew it!''

Piper rolled her eyes, sinking back in her seat. She was about to respond with something that would have hopefully been sassy, when the hand holding hers gave a painful squeeze. Turning to look at her boyfriend, she furrowed her brows as she watched him sit up, rubbing his eyes and blinking rapidly as if he was still trying to awake from a dream.

''Jason? You okay?'' She asked, shuffling forward to get a better look at him.

''Welcome back to the realm of the living, bro. You've been knocked out for hours,'' Leo said with an impish grin, completely oblivious to the situation. ''We were just discussing the newbie.'' He turned back to Piper. ''What do you reckon it was?''