A Gift and a Curse

12 - A Gift and a Curse

Leon held her tight back, putting his lips closer to her ears. Evie felt her tears starting up again, but Leon's words of reassurance stopped them. "I'm so sorry for all that has happened to you. I don't even know where to start... You did nothing wrong, don't blame yourself for anything."

Evie felt a sigh of relief, unaware that she needed to hear those words. The girl always wondered if she did something wrong to deserve this in the back of her mind. Leon pulled his head back from her ear, while his hands were still holding Evie's waist.

He looked her in the eyes. "It's their loss. Karma is a bitch and I'm sure she'll pay those dudes a visit in the future. But I'm glad and thankful you shared this with me. Things make more sense now and I can see why you are the way that you are."

Evie asked, "Do you still feel the same way about me after hearing all of that? You don't think I'm broken or pathetic?"

Leon reassured her, "Actually, it's the exact opposite. For someone to deal with that the way that you have, I think you're a strong person. I respect you even more than I did before, which was a lot by the way. You're a good person. I could tell when I first met you that morning at the lockers, even if you did give me a hard time!"

Evie chuckled. "Honestly, I just thought you were another guy that I was used to dealing with." Leon let out a playful sigh. Evie smacked him lightly and he laughed.

She told Leon, "I didn't start to realize how I felt about you until later on. How kind you were to Mia. When you kept stopping by at the Café to visit me week after week, I thought to myself, "This boy definitely wants something, he must be up to something.""

Evie explained, "But then, I saw you playing at the Homecoming game. How you were playing selflessly along with everyone on the team. How you were cheering everyone up when they were looking down. I also thought, "A boy this kind couldn't have malicious intentions, right? There's no way!""

Leon looked happy as Evie continued, "I got jealous of how Haley and Jackie were coming on to you. I was wondering why I even felt that way in the first place, ya know? But, after talking about it with you here now, I get it. I get all of it. Maybe everything happens for a reason, right?"

She stepped over and kissed Leon on the cheek. He couldn't help but blush. "And maybe that reason was you." Leon gave Evie a huge smile.

"I also fell in love with that smile." Evie told the boy. "That pure, innocent smile. You should be more careful with that thing! It's dangerous ya know!"

She grabbed him by the arm. "I only want you to smile like that at me from now on, got it pretty boy?"

"I'll try my best Evie, I promise." Leon said. "But sometimes it just comes out on its own I suppose."

Evie smirked. "I knew you'd say that it's just how you are. I get it, really! At least when we're alone I'll have it all to myself. I think I can live with that dreamer boy."

Evie had her eyes closed with a look of contention on her face while holding the boy's arm. She wished she could stay in the moment forever. Leon was also at peace, but he realized what time it was when he looked at his phone.

He told her, "Sorry Evie, I don't mean to interrupt our little moment here but, do you want to come back to the dance with us?"

"Shit!" Evie exclaimed. "I totally forgot all about that! But Leon, I don't have any clothes to change into for it."

"You don't need to worry about that, silly." Leon assured her. "Mia brought some extra stuff to the car! You can change here, what do you say?"

Evie was beaming. "Sure, why not! Lead the way pretty boy."