Teenage Troubles (Prequel for Teenage Baby)

Bonus Chapter | Crossover (Part 2)

Bonus Chapter | Crossover (Part 2)

Aaron glanced back, and, of course, Leo's arm was stuck between the boards of the wooden fence.

"He's fast! I swear it's so hard to keep up with him," Adelaide said. "But don't worry." She sounded pretty worried. "We can get him out."

Beside her, Leo was on his knees, trying to pull his arm back out in vain. Clearly he'd reached in to try and pluck some flowers. Maybe even grass. Or just to touch soil. Aaron couldn't predict Leo's intentions with this stuff.

Aaron sighed. "I've got an eye on him," he muttered as he walked towards Leo. "Don't worry."

"Dude..." Adelaide watched him pass by her. "You're really grumpy today..."

Aaron knelt down on one knee beside Leo while he tested how hard it would be to get his arm out. He tried tugging once. The wood of the fence was old and splintered, so he knew it was possible, but it would hurt.

"What were you trying to get?" Aaron asked.

"Flowers," Leo said, refusing to meet Aaron's eyes.

"That's someone's field, Leo. You can't take flowers just like that."

"But I wanted to make a flowercrown and put it on your head..."

Aaron crinkled his nose. "Why in the world would you wanna do that?"

Leo shrugged one shoulder. "Because that way Adelaide's joke will make sense."

Aaron gave Adelaide a flat look over his shoulder.

"Oh my gosh." Adelaide covered her face, embarrassed. "He just... He won't forget what I said, will he? Besides, if Aaron was actually a king it literally wouldn't be a joke, so..." She waved her hands. "You know what! It doesn't matter! Let's get him out of there."

Kneeling down by Leo's other side, she looked at his arm, and she must have noticed that it was turning red under the pressure, squeezed too tightly between the vertical boards. Aaron wondered how Leo managed to fit his arm in there at all.

"His arm is turning red," Adelaide said. "We need to hurry." She looked at Leo with a pitiful frown, and she gently put a hand over his. "I'm so sorry."

"It's okay," Leo said, slipping his fingers out from beneath hers. He hid his hand behind his back.

Aaron noticed the hurt expression on Adelaide's face. "Don't take it personally," he said. "It's just that holding hands is his ultimate sign of trust, so he doesn't do it easily."

Adelaide shook her head. "It's fine. I understand."

Aaron caught Leo's arm and tugged again, but this time the wood cut into his skin, and a thin line of blood trickled out. Aaron quickly stopped. Leo didn't say a word, didn't wince, didn't complain. He just stayed put as he looked at the blood. It broke Aaron's heart. Leo could whine about anything and everything, but when it came to physical pain, his reactions were always so terribly passive.

"He's bleeding," Adelaide said, worry laced in her voice. Aaron wanted to try pulling Leo's arm out one more time, but Adelaide swatted his hand off. "Dude! He's hurt. Stop pulling his arm."

"And what do you want me to do? Leave him here?" Aaron asked, then he pulled at Leo's arm one more time. The rough edge of the fence scraped against his skin, and a few more lines of blood became visible.

Restless, Leo started shifting on his knees, glancing back, looking around at the people behind, probably envying the fact that their arm wasn't stuck in the fence.