Caramel || Leonardo DiCaprio

Chapter 11: Red Plaid

Originally Published: November 20, 2022

NENA'S POV:

I felt exhausted from barely getting any sleep, tiredly getting ready for the day. I slightly laughed when I almost ran into Leo when exiting the bathroom.

"Hi," I shyly greeted, tucking my blonde hair behind my ear.

"Hi. Are you done in there," he politely asked.

"Oh yeah. I just showered and brushed my teeth, and did all that stuff everyone does... I guess I'll go get breakfast now. Of course, I should have brushed my teeth second, but... Yeah, you can go in there," I finished, forcing myself to stop my ramble. I couldn't think straight knowing that Leo returned my feelings. I quietly padded across the hallway until Leo had locked the door behind himself, suddenly doing a sprint for my sister's room. "Ellen," I whispered/shouted, knocking on her door.

"What is it? Are you okay, Nena," she asked after opening it. She was yawning with a maroon bathrobe wrapped around herself.

"I'm not sure. I-Oh! I'm sorry. I didn't realize...," I trailed off, blushing brightly at the sight of Tobey shirtless in her bed.

"Nena, nothing happened and never has. We've just been spending a lot of time talking and sometimes kissing," she explained. I watched as Tobey got up already in a pair of red plaid pajama pants, leaving the room to give us privacy.

"I need to talk to you. I found out something I wasn't supposed to, and now I'm freaking out. I don't know how to act, or what to say, or even what to think," I expressed once we were completely alone.

"What are you talking about?" She looked at me confused as I took a deep breath.

"I overheard Leo on the phone yesterday with his mom, and he was telling her how... He was afraid to like me, because I guess he was with some girl named, Kristen, and she broke up with him because she couldn't handle the paparazzi. And of course I know who she is. I mean, they were in the tabloids for forever, but I didn't realize he was that broken up about their breakup. I ran into him right outside the bathroom just now, and I acted like a total idiot," I confided, having to sit on her bed.

"Nena, calm down. Take a deep breath," she calmly ordered, helping me to compose myself.

"What if I mess everything up by acting weird? Or what if he finds out I know, and gets mad I lied that I didn't? I told him I didn't hear him on the phone when he asked. I pretty much never lie, but it just slipped out."

"Nena... Leo likes you."

"I know! That's the problem," I complained on the verge of frustrated tears.

"No, it's not the problem. The problem is you need to let him know that he can trust you, that his feelings would be safe with you. And talking all this over with him wouldn't hurt. He might not be as scared if he at least knew you returned his feelings."

"But he's Leonardo DiCaprio! He's my Titanic star crush. He's the first boy's poster, who I kissed, and then accidentally ruined because I kissed it a little too much. He was never supposed to be anything more than a friend, because that's just not possible. I've never deserved anyone special, especially not him. I've always been the plain Jane, the girl guys ignored, or worse put down because I didn't wear makeup and dress up. Leo's so out of my league, and the media will see that. I'll be torn apart, and I won't want to burden him with that. I don't want him to feel bad ever," I ranted in almost one breath, nearly about to cry.

"Do you really care what the media says? Because that's exactly what Leo's scared of."

"Of course I don't. But I do care about all my old insecurities being pointed out again. I'm not a model, Ellen. They'll be speculating me more than anyone he's ever dated. What if I can't handle it? What if he's right about not going for me? It was different when I didn't see us becoming serious."