Leo doesn't need much except a good book and a coffee to relax. He always puts his family and friends first no matter what and he never had trouble getting close to new people. That was until an anxious boy, Aaron, that has trouble opening up, appea...
Leo grabs Nicholas' shoulders and looks closer at his face. At first he thought that he just imagined it or maybe the sun was in his eyes but now he's convinced that he was right. Nicholas' face is blue.
"What happened to you?" Naomi asks while holding back a laugh and Nicholas just shrugs looking at her.
"None of your business"
"How come you got the courage to come out like this?" Leo asks and Nicholas remains unimpressed, or at least tries to look like it.
"I don't care about what other people say"
"You look like a Smurf" Naomi doesn't hold back anymore and laughs out loud while Nicholas just looks the other way, rolling his eyes.
"I tried to dye my hair but somehow splashed some of that shit on my face and now I'm kind of blue. Mom said that if it doesn't wash out she'll disown me"
"Kind of? Your whole face is blue"
This day wasn't as bad as Leo expected it to be after everything that happened this morning. The four of them got ice cream as they planned and are sitting on a bench ,in the park, watching the last leaves falling off and the sun hiding behind the clouds.
"If it makes you feel better... When I was in middle school I wanted to dye my hair green for some reason and somehow got some hair dye on my forehead. It didn't wash out so I looked like an alien for almost a whole month"
Nicholas looks at Aaron with wide eyes and the other can tell that he doesn't feel better at all. Leo pats his shoulders and smiles.
"You didn't had the worst day out of all of us Nicholas ... Today I left the water on in my bathroom and slipped on it. I hit my head while falling face first in the bathtub and I'm still wondering how I didn't got a concussion."
Naomi looks at him with a scared face and stands up immediately grabbing his face and looking at his head carefully.
"Jesus! Be more careful! Do you want to die or something?"
She scolds him and shakes her finger in front of his face aggressively. Leo just looks at her,already used to her getting worried like this. Since they first met in high school she's always been like this.
When Leo and Naomi first met he was helping Nicholas get down from a tree after his pet squirrel ran away because he left the cage unlocked. They were all in the same class but never talked. Naomi was always busy with piano and violin lessons. Leo and Nicholas always saw her taking lessons almost every day after school ended.
She was sitting way in the back and never spoke to anyone, only rarely, but she didn't came off as anxious. Naomi knew what she wanted and was always confident in whatever she did. At first it was hard for her. She just moved from Cuba and didn't knew anyone here in Canada.
She held a few corn beans in the palm of her hand while crouching down and patiently waiting, not saying anything. Not long after, Nicholas' squirrel appeared and sat in her palm eating the corn. She looked up at both of the boys and Nicholas cursing, still trying to get down from the tree.
"You know you could get seriously injured doing that! You should ask an adult to help you! Do you want to die or something?"
I guess some things never change. Even though Naomi was angry at the boys, they decided to stick together after that.
Acorn, Nicholas' squirrel that had a really uninspired name, liked her a lot but sadly left this world a little too early after being hit by a car. Leo almost barfed when he went to help Nicholas collect Acorn's body or whatever remained out of him so he can get a funeral. Naomi was there for the funeral and even bought him a little flower.
After that they were inseparable. The boys got to know a different side of Naomi. A carefree and funny one, that knew how to be goofy and have fun but still had limits and knew when to stop because it was too much. If it wasn't for Naomi taking care and scolding them, Leo and Nicholas believe that they would have been dead by now.
"I didn't die okay? I'm fine"
"After everything we went through it would be kinda lame to die in your own house" Nicholas raises one eyebrow while looking at Leo.
"And here I thought you would feel worried but you're actually just disappointed"
"Wrong! I would be disappointed if you were dead but... Yeah you're still here so... "
"I can tell you're very happy that I'm alive"
"Anyways... Guess what? My brother wants to get a dog! I can't wait to see it and pet it and feed it-"
"And kill it accidentally" Leo cuts Nicholas off.
Silence follows and Aaron uncomfortably shifts in his place looking down at his arm.
"What's up?" Naomi asks, somehow knowing that he's uncomfortable.
"Um... Actually... I don't show this to a lot of people... Only to who I'm close with" He lifts his sleeve up, exposing a scar on his forearm and Leo slightly flinches at the sight of it.
Naomi looks closer at the scar and then looks up at Aaron. She's seen this type of scar before.
"It's a dog bite isn't it?"
Uh yeah... I got it when I was 10 from my dog. We used to be very close and did a lot of things together and... Went to a lot of walks together but he just... It was like he lost his mind that day... " He covers his hand back and sighs loudly.
"Dude... That's messed up"
"I told you to stop saying dude" Leo grabs Nicholas' shoulder and shakes him.
"Why should I listen to you?"
"Because saying dude is lame"
"Oh you think that's lame Mr. 'I almost died falling in my bathtub' "
"Would you knock it off?"
Naomi looks at Aaron and smiles at him. She rests her hand on his shoulder and Aaron smiles back. He feels like he can trust her. Like she's there to listen to him. Even though Leo and Nicholas are currently bickering in the background he can tell that they listen too and that they care... Nicholas just shows it in a different way and Leo... I guess you could say he's still mad at himself for being so stupid this morning.
"I know it's hard for you to open up so I just want to say that every little thing you say about yourself... Every memory... I'm here to listen. I want to be a good friend to you"
Aaron just can't find the right words to thank her so he just takes Naomi's hands in his, smiling at her.
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Aaron in middle school:
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