Star Drifting

CHAPTER FIVE: THE MUCH NEEDED TALK

Edited 9/5/2024

Leo's side of the room resembled his at the Brandt Mansion. There's little to no decor, the side being plain and empty. A shapeless blob of wood and black, creating a messy sight. It was like night and day to my side, with various plants and flowers (mainly from Bri), glowing stars, and posters of some characters in shows Viva and I binge-watched. My bed was painted in a fur-colored white, silk pillowcases, and (my favorite addition) fairy lights that I hung around the edges. Even on the walls. It indeed took forever to set up everything but I was able to do it all the day of moving in. I am pretty impressive.

"You think I should wash the she-" I was turned away from the man on his bed. My ease in decorating had left me unaware of my surroundings as I casually let out a sentence like it was normal. I forgot I wasn't with Trent anymore.

When I eventually turned around, I saw Leo with his legs crossed, fiddling with a set of flowers. My black dahlias. The silence in the room brought him back to attention, his eyes looking up to meet mine that had caught him with my things.

"Oh, uh, sorry. You just left this one to the side. I was going to give it to you when you... I actually don't know. But I was going to give it to you-" His voice was rushed and panicked like he got caught doing something he knew would tick me off. I guess this was his way of apologizing.

"Keep it. It doesn't really fit the flowers here. Well, it doesn't fit me either. Plus, your side needs some improvement." I sat down on my bed, facing him. Annoyingly, he shifted his gaze from me instantly. He wasn't ready to talk to me.

"Uh, thanks." He quickly flashed an awkward smile before placing the pot on his dresser. He then scribbled "Don't forget to water- Leon" on a sticky note and attached it to the pot. What a dummy.

"By the way...you don't have to do this." He turned around, a familiar wounded look on his face that ruined the reconciliation. "Pretend to be ok with me, I mean. It's ok. I know you're upset-"

"Why?"

"..what?"

"Why'd you do it?"

"..." He returned to his bed, his face refusing to meet mine. Playing the silent tactic.

He got a safe out before, but he wasn't getting another. I'm not his father, and he's not his father either. No matter how similar. Leon could never be like his father.

Only risk brings fruition.

I moved over to sit on the bed beside him, his eyes finally moving to meet mine. Through the dim lights in the room, I can see the sparkles in his eyes. The flickers of white shimmer within the deep brown sea of his iris. And then it vanished. He had dropped his look from mine again. And for the first time, I realized just how much I yearned for his eyes to sparkle like that at me again.

"...So..you and Trent."

"What about it?"

"...Sv- Seven. I don't mean to tell you how to live your life, trust me, but Trent isn't good for you. I guess I would've never imagined you two together."

"Well, we're not dating. So.."

"But you want to." I had no choice but to remain silent at his sharp tone. The sound sending a shot straight at my chest. Like father, like son. But Leon could never be his father.

Do I want to? I couldn't answer that question now.

"... don't try and avoid my question-"

"Don't try and avoid mine."

"Well, you didn't ask one."

"So let me rephrase. If Trent were to ask you right now, 'Seven, do you want to be with me?' would you say yes?" He stopped playing the back-and-forth game of holding eye contact and then avoiding it. This time, he kept a stern look in his eyes, directed right at me. This wasn't the kind of look I wanted from him.