Caramel || Leonardo DiCaprio

Chapter 12: Fall Decorations

Originally Published: November 22, 2022

NENA'S POV:

It felt like we were trudging through snow, only it was leaves, as Leo and I finally made it back up to the house. Our fingers were interlaced as he opened the front door for us. Ellen turned to us from the kitchen, since she had been peeling an apple for pie. Her eyes widened, and the biggest grin broke out across her face when she saw our hands.

"Ellen was the one who convinced me to tell you I liked you," I shyly shared with Leo.

"Thanks, Ellen," he nicely smiled.

"You're welcome," she beamed, coming over to hug the both of us together. "It's about time. Mom's going to be so happy too. She thought you two were dating when Leo got here. Oh my goodness, I have to get Tobey."

I looked over at Leo with stars in my eyes, him chuckling quietly with a glimmer in his own eyes.

"Was everyone rooting for us to get together," he wondered.

"I guess so," I replied, leading him over to the dining room table just as my mom burst into the room.

"You two make the cutest couple. I'm so glad Nena's finally found someone," she expressed.

"Mom...," I dragged out, embarrassment hitting me. "We've only just decided to go out. It's not like we're getting married or anything."

"Someday," she winked, Leo's face now transforming to a scarlet shade.

I sighed through my nose as I leaned my head against Leo's arm after she left the room.

"I'm sorry about her," I apologized.

"It's okay. I bet my mom's going to freak out when she hears about us too."

LEO'S POV:

I followed Nena into her bedroom once Ellen stopped gushing over us, glad to have some privacy when she shut the door.

"So, do you have a Thanksgiving tradition," I wondered, since I planned on staying until then.

"Yeah, we have a big dinner with my parents and my sister. I know it might not be a huge family get together with cousins and grandparents, aunts and uncles, but I really cherish it," Nena shared.

"It sounds nice. I usually just spend Thanksgiving with my mom. Sometimes my dad comes too, and of course Tobey is usually there." A soft chuckle escaped my lips before I accidentally kicked the corner of something. It was a cardboard box that was shoved beneath her dresser. I was going to fix it, but somehow I ended up pulling it out since it was wedged under there.

"Oh, you don't want to look at that," Nena claimed, lingering behind me as I read the label in black Sharpie marker.

Leo Things

"Is this stuff from when we were friends," I guessed, but the material seemed too aged as I finally ripped it open. A bunch of my movies were resting in it along with posters and other random items. I picked up Marvin's Room on video cassette, smiling faintly as I then found a special edition of Titanic. She even somehow had a t-shirt with my face on it from the movie with Rose. "What happened to this?" I held up a poster, where my lips were smudged, her instantly placing her face in her hands.

"I don't want to tell you," she whined, me never seeing her so embarrassed before.

"Come on, tell me, it's not a big deal."

"Yes, it is, when you hear what happened," she mumbled against her palms.

"Is it that bad?" Now my curiosity was piqued as I hoped for an answer.