His Other Half

Chapter 26

The evening he took me home was sort of weird. We both knew what happened but weren't sure how to feel about it.
No. We did know how to feel.
He knew I loved him. But not once did he say he loved me back. My mom had teased me about a few times but never had the words left his lips. I knew he wasn't one to talk about his feelings, most guys weren't, so I wasn't expecting some dramatic performance where he kisses me in the rain and confesses his undying love for me. That is if he even loved me.
He had my mind in a jumble and my heart doing summersaults and my damn stomach tied into a sailors knot. I was too busy being naive and distracted to notice his lips against my skin. Having it in photo form for proof didn't necessarily make it any better. I knew he had it. I watched him put it in his pocket and smile while he did it.
This was more than I thought it was. We had consistently held the title best friends, and countless times I tried to brush it off as Leo just being Leo. Not this time. I draw the line at kissing. No matter what kind of kiss it is, if you kiss someone you love them. I mean my mom kisses my dad before he leaves for work and she'll kiss my cheek when she leaves me to do my work.
But this wasn't family love of course. This was head over heels love. I'm not ashamed to admit it. This heart throb I never imagined falling in love with let alone wanted to be friends with now has me sitting in the passenger side of his car trying to figure out if he was in love with me too. I was too bothered with my own thoughts to even acknowledge he was trying to pass me his cigarette.
"Y/n?" I was sucked back to reality.
He had his thick eyebrow perked at me in curiosity and worry.
"Are you okay?"
Absolutely not.
"Fine." I denied his offer and continued to stare out the window.
An urge arose in me to make him just tell me if he loved me or not. Scream at him to pull over and just answer the damn question once and for all. But even then, what would I do?
What if he did love me back? We had been friends for so long that I couldn't imagine myself being with him or feeling obliged to kiss him and send him goodnight texts. If he did love me I wanted us to stay friends.
And if he didn't...I don't think I want to think about that.
We stopped at the end of my driveway and he put out his cigarette.
"Thanks, bye." I didn't even look at him, I couldn't, not with the way my heart was beating right now.
Just before I could exit the car, he said something that changed things. It flipped my whole world, but not necessarily upside down. My perception and personal lens had been shifted.
"See you later baby."
It felt like I had ran into a brick wall. But I powered through it and got out of his car and walked into my house as if nothing ever happened. I didn't look back at him and smile and wave one last time, I slammed the door behind me and ran straight for my room.
The next day I didn't see Leo. Not in chemistry, not in gym, not in Algebra II. It was almost a relief not being flirted with all day. Amanda suggested I texted him to make sure he was alright and not deathly ill or in the hospital, but I'm sure if he was I'd be the first to know.
So from my observations, it looked like I had been Leo free. In English, I actually was able to collaborate with my team members and planned read a few pages of my book.
A knock came at the door and I didn't think much of it, not bothering to turn and look. It was probably another teacher coming to flirt with Mrs. Ross or a student dropping by to hand in a late assignment.
My back stiffened as I felt a hand caress the small of it. The empty chair beside me had been pulled away and the scent of vanilla and cologne found me before my eyes were even able to get a glimpse of who it was. And I knew exactly who it was.
"Hey sugar, you left this in my car."  My book slid in front of me.
The other voices at my table fell silent, eyeing me one last time before retiring to their phones or their own books.
"Thanks." I clenched my jaw, staring down at the cover of my story. Anything but him.
His hand found my thigh and he pulled himself closer to me, "Sorry I wasn't really here today, I know you missed me." I caught his stupid wink from the corner of my eye. "But I found something super cool I gotta show you. Are you busy later?"
My eyes scanned my peers, looking for anything to talk about except for him, looking for anyone else to talk to besides him. But no avail.
"I'm busy." I couldn't imagine spending time with him right now. And not because I hated him, because he had me so confused that I know I'd burst into a fit of tears and force him to admit to something he wasn't ready to.
He plucked my pencil from my fingers and began to pump the led from it, "I doubt that. I promise it's super cool, you won't want to miss it."
I was ready to burst. I couldn't stand another moment of him.
"Leo.." I pressed my tongue against my cheek and tried to hold back my tears.
"Y/n.." He drug out the last syllable of my name and my blood boiled.
"I'll talk to you later." If I spoke another word I'd become a crying mess.
Leo rolled in his chair and groaned, and when he realized I wasn't responding to any of his pleads he finally complied. I watched as he tucked my pencil into his pocket, surely unintentional.
"I'll talk to you then baby." He pecked the crown of my head and ruffled my hair as he got from his seat.
The door closed and I let out a breath I didn't realize I held.
"Didn't know you two were a thing." Amanda nudged my side and giggled, she seemed to be the only one happy about this.
"Neither did I." I rested my head on the table.