Patience Is Key | Valgrace Fanfiction

Chapter 14

In the end, Leo was the champion of bowling. He had the highest score, Shel had the second highest, Piper had the third and Jason had the last. But Jason did do better than he usually did in bowling because Leo helped him out a little.

Now the four of them were at the arcade. Piper and Leo were on the DDR machine, Shel was cheering on her girlfriend and Jason was just watching the two of them. They were both good at the machine, but Leo was racking up more points.

They had just finished another game and Leo cheered, throwing his arms up in the air.
"Haha! I beat you again!" Leo grinned, looking at Piper.
"I let you win!" Piper stuck her tongue out at Leo.
"Suree~" Leo rolled his eyes.

Piper got off of the machine and she tugged at Shel's sleeve.
"How about I go win you something from the claw machine, my dear?" Piper smiled at her girlfriend.
"Those machines are rigged." Shel raised her eyebrows.
"I am very talented! I'll get you whatever toy you desire!" Piper exclaimed.
Shel smiled. "Okay~"

Shel faced Jason and Leo.
"You two go off and have your own fun. I'll cheer on Piper while she tries to win me something!" Shel exclaimed.
Piper then took Shel's hand and held it, interlocking their fingers. The two girls turned away and smiled at each other as Piper urged Shel to look for something she wanted.

Jason looked at Leo and Leo smiled at Jason.
"Wanna play a round of DDR-?" Leo began.
"You would win, I can't play that machine." Jason shook his head.
Leo frowned but he got off the machine.
"Ah, worth a shot!" Leo exclaimed.

"What do you want to do then, Jase?"
Leo went over and interlocked their arms. Jason looked at Leo before he glanced around the arcade, trying to see if there was some sort of game that caught his attention.
"Erm..." Jason didn't find anything that caught his interest.
Leo watched Jason and he bit his inner cheek.

"Y'know, there's this pet store that's nearby. Maybe we could visit it!" Leo exclaimed, instantly walking off and dragging Jason with him.
"What? What about Piper and Shel?" Jason furrowed his eyebrows.
"They have our numbers, they can call us! Plus, I'm sure Piper will take forever trying to win her girlfriend a prize." Leo rolled his eyes.
"C'mon!"

*****

Jason followed behind Leo in the pet shop as Leo gasped at all the animals there. There were birds, fish, reptiles and some hamsters and rats in this pet shop.

"Why are we here?" Jason asked.
"Because I'm heartbroken from my break up and these animals are cute." Leo smiled at Jason.
Jason stayed silent as he looked around again.

Leo then gasped loudly as he went over to a cage towards where the reptiles were. Jason blinked and he quickly followed after Leo. Leo crouched down and he looked at the reptile through the glass.

"What is it?" Jason asked.
"A bearded dragon!" Leo exclaimed, admiring the animal.
"Dios mío, I've wanted one since I was a kid! I mean, I never had the chance to have a pet since..."
Leo stopped himself and he cleared his throat. Jason gently patted Leo's back and Leo smiled at Jason.

"I've always wanted one. Never had the chance to get one." Leo said, looking back at the creature that just stood still in the cage.
"I remember I'd do a lot of research on how to take care of them, the stuff they need. I thought I'd get one after a while with Calypso, but every time I brought it up with her, she claimed that reptiles were nasty creatures. Especially bearded dragons."

Jason looked at Leo for a few more moments before he looked at the bearded dragon.
"They're not the cutest creatures." Jason shrugged.
"Uh, he is very adorable, thank you!" Leo scowled, looking at Jason.
Jason smiled.
"First, you don't know that it's a 'he'. Second, they look more cool than cute." Jason said, looking at the animal.
Leo blinked as he saw Jason seemed to be admiring the bearded dragon.

Leo got up and he stuffed his hands into his pockets.
"I'll probably wait a few more years to get one. I mean, I'm busy with college, the apprenticeship, and I need my own place so that the pet won't bother you." Leo said.

Jason looked at Leo and was about to say something before Leo's phone buzzed and Leo got it out.
"Ah, it's Piper." Leo said, quickly typing a message back to Piper.
"She won Shel a plush and is wondering where we are, say goodbye before they leave."
Leo put his phone back and smiled at Jason.
"C'mon. Let's go."
Leo walked off.

Jason looked back at the bearded dragon and he bit his inner cheek.
Jason looked back at Leo and quickly caught up to him.

"Erm, so what exactly do you need to take care of a bearded dragon?"
"Huh? Why are you asking me?"
"You said you researched that stuff, just... tell me about it. Until we get to Piper and Shel."
"Okay! So, obviously you need a cage for them, but like a big one and-"

Jason listened intently to what Leo told him. Jason adored hearing Leo talk about how to take care of a bearded dragon so enthusiastically.

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Word count: 908