Leonardo DiCaprio Short Stories

Lab Partners

word count: 2,475

A/N: Contains drug use. 

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"Hey." I greeted my lab partner, Leo, as I took a seat next to him and waited for class to start. He said nothing in response, just gave a half-assed hand gesture. We sat in silence as our teacher began the lecture. I tried to take notes on phylogenetic trees, but I kept getting distracted by Leo. He was tapping his pencil against the table while staring down at the floor.

"Mr. DiCaprio." The teacher spoke, causing Leo to pause his actions and look up at the teacher. Everyone was facing us, awaiting a response from Leo, which they did not get. "Well?" The teacher questioned, trying to get Leo to say anything.

"Leo and I were just discussing how the third tree is the most parsimonious, and even though the Ichthyosaurus looks like a dolphin, they are more ancestral than we might think. They probably don't have a recent common ancestor, but their homoplasy most likely comes from a common environment." I spoke up, trying to take the pressure off of Leo and the watching eyes of our classmates away from both of us.

"Is that so, Mr. DiCaprio?" The teacher questioned once again. Leo just nodded his head, still refusing to say anything. The teacher then turned around and continued the lecture as Leo resumed tapping his pencil against the table.

"Is everything okay?" I asked Leo as the class began to pack up before we were released. Leo just looked at me and gave me a sad smile before walking towards the door and out of the classroom the moment the bell rang. I sat there in confusion, not knowing how, or if, I could help him.

I got in my car and drove home, plopping down on my bed the moment I got through the door. I was almost asleep when my landline started ringing. I groggily got out of bed and answered the phone.

Hello?

Hi, (y/n).

Who is this?

Oh, uh- Leo. Sorry.

Oh, hi, Leo. What's up?

Thank you for saying that in class.

Yeah, it was no problem. Is everything alright with you? You seem kind of off lately.

I'm fine. Just wanted to say thanks.

Okay. You're welcome.

Bye.

I was so confused by that call. Why would he call in the first place? Why wouldn't he tell me what's going on? Why wouldn't he talk in class? I decided to not think about it because honestly, it had nothing to do with me.

---

I walked into biology the next day, finding Leo missing from his seat. I sat down and started taking notes as our teacher continued the lecture from the previous day. It was hard to pay attention to what I was supposed to be learning as my mind kept wandering back to Leo. I needed to find out where he went and what the hell has been going on with him recently. He is usually the most outgoing, funny, and kind person in school, but lately, he has been closed off and quiet.

I was able to slip out of the classroom without the teacher noticing, and the first thing I did was check the parking lot to see if Leo's car was there. And it was. I walked around the outside of the school and I started to smell smoke as I reached the basketball courts. I saw Leo sitting on the ground, leaning against the fence, cigarette in hand. I walked over to him and took a seat next to Leo, him just ignoring my presence.

"Hi," I spoke quietly.

"Hi." He mumbled as he took another drag of his cigarette.

"Look, I know we haven't really talked before, besides in class, but I'm worried about you. And you don't have to tell me anything if you don't want to, but I will always listen if you want to get something off your chest. I have no friends, so your secrets are safe with me."