Even though it was nearing the end of June, the weather had been fairly decent. The official date for summer had only begun, but it wasn't humid out yet. I was grateful for that, since I hated how hot the days could get. I was a bit nervous, since I would be helping out my aunt for Vacation Bible School. I put on a cute yellow top with grey stars and a pair of jean shorts that went halfway down my thighs that morning, also tying my golden blonde hair into a high ponytail. I nearly tripped in my white sandals when we arrived at the church, blushing from the fear of anyone seeing. I found out that my tasks weren't that strenuous, which I was grateful for. I helped out with setting up the tent that was supposed to resemble the inside of a whale for the story of Jonah. It was so cute how excited the kids got about sitting in it, them giggling as they asked questions about the story. I watched as my aunt explained the entire tale, actually feeling like I needed a refresher on the bible story as well. Eventually it was a couple hours later, and I had to help with getting the snacks ready. My aunt was busy taking out the brightly colored Fun Pops drinks, while I worked on the vanilla generic brand of Oreos. All of the kids finally got what they needed and were sitting around a small, round table with their cookies resting on a napkin to prevent a mess.
"I think I'm going to go to the bathroom real quick," I told my aunt as she watched the children.
"That's alright. Take your time," she reassured me.
I nodded before rushing in that direction, anxious to be in a quiet place alone. I already could feel my energy levels draining from all the social interaction. I gasped when someone almost ran into me from my haste.
"Oh, sorry," the apologized first, my brain still catching up with my mouth.
"No, I'm sorry...," I said before slowly trailing off. I couldn't help but stare up at the tall guy before me. He had blonde hair parted near the middle with most stunning blue eyes in the world. They reminded me of the Red Sea when it was its intense blue-green color.
"You okay," he softly chuckled, since I was just staring.
"Yeah, I'm okay. I was just, um, going to the bathroom," I awkwardly got out, going straight through the women's door. I took a deep breath as I tried to calm myself, going up to the mirror above one of the sinks. I wasn't sure what to do about encountering a guy that cute. I struggled to strike up conversations with people, especially strangers. Eventually I braved exiting the restroom, only to find that he was gone, which he wouldn't be waiting around for me. We barely talked and he surely had a class that he had to get back to. When I rejoined my group, the kids had just finished up eating and my aunt had thrown their trash away. We then led them upstairs to where the main worshipping area was filled with pews. They enjoyed singing along with the church leader up front, jumping up and down to the fun religious kid songs. Their favorite was Superhero about Jesus rescuing them. They played that particular song so loud that it was shaking the room, but the kids just sang louder, the smiles on their faces beautiful. I secretly hoped to run into the tall guy from before when I was leaving the church, but I didn't see him anywhere in the groups of people heading for their cars.
I was staying in the guest bedroom at my aunt's house that night, just staring up at the ceiling as I dreamed of him.
"Are you okay? I noticed your light was still on," my aunt gently said, since my door was slightly open too.
"Yeah, I'm just having trouble sleeping," I sighed softly, lying on my side as I propped myself up with my elbow.
"You can watch a movie or something to help you fall asleep," she offered, since she had a huge collection of films.
"I might do that." I was already sliding off the mattress as my feet hit the carpet. I yawned as I went to the room where her cases of tapes and DVDs were kept. I skimmed over the titles as I attempted to decide on one. I went with Home on the Range, since I just wanted a relaxing Disney movie. I cuddled up to my covers in the extra bedroom after placing the DVD into the player, her decent sized television eventually lulling me to dreamland.
The following day was another one spent helping out with the kids at Vacation Bible School. I was sitting at the side of the room after my aunt turned out the lights. It wasn't too dark, since there were windows on the opposite wall. It reminded me of twilight, since it had that blueish glow. The children screamed though when a guy dressed up as a Roman soldier suddenly burst from the closet. It made me jump too, since I wasn't expecting it either. I think my aunt didn't realize it would scare everyone that much.
The guy was doing his best to go on with his telling of a classic bible story, and eventually everyone calmed down enough to listen. My heart was pounding harder than ever though, since I realized the person in disguise was the blue-eyed guy from yesterday. I wanted to talk to him after the demonstration, but he left pretty quickly after. I just felt discouraged that we kept almost crossing paths the entire week, but nothing ever came of it. Later I found myself sitting on the bottom steps outside that led up to the second floor of the church as I waited on my aunt. She had to gather up a few things and talk to some people before leaving. My breath caught in my throat when I saw the familiar guy jogging down the stairs.
"Hey," I said, surprised that he heard me.
He stopped in his tracks with a small but genuine smile. "Hey, you going to the church picnic next week?"
"Yeah," I blurted out without thinking. I hadn't made any plans on attending, but now I was determined to be there.
"Me too. Maybe I'll see you there." He shot me one last smile before officially leaving. I noticed that he seemed to just be walking home, so I assumed he must live pretty close to the church. It was funny how my aunt's house was walking distance on the opposite direction of the sidewalk. I almost didn't notice when she had finally showed up with her big navy blue cloth bag.
"You ready to go," she double checked.
"Yeah," I absentmindedly nodded. "Would it be okay if I came with you to your church picnic next week?" I brought up the subject when we were outside her car. The reason she drove was because of all the supplies she would be taking home that day.
"Of course! I didn't know that you knew about it."
"Oh, one of the teenagers here brought it up." I tried my best to not allude to it being a cute guy, since I knew she would tease me about it.
"Oh, so did you make a new friend this week?"
"Not really, but I ran into this one person a few times."
She barely nodded before we both got into her vehicle, exiting the parking lot shortly after.
"You want to stop somewhere for ice cream before I take you home," she wondered since it was a fairly hot day.
"Okay," I agreed, us stopping at a small shop after I picked up my yellow duffel bag at her house.
We both found a nice round table by the window, me working on my double scoop of moose tracks in a bowl, while she had strawberry ice cream in a waffle cone. I crossed my ankles as I gazed outside, my cheeks heating up when that familiar blonde boy was heading towards the building.
"Oh, I didn't expect Leo to be stopping by here too," my aunt commented.
"You know him?" I couldn't help but repeat his name in my mind like it was the most beautiful thing I ever heard.
"Yeah, he goes to my church and he's a really nice young guy. Why? Do you think he's cute," she playfully teased, since she could probably tell I was anxious.
"He's okay," I murmured, filling my mouth with more ice cream. I couldn't even chance looking at the counter as he picked out his own dessert. I could faintly hear him requesting the vanilla ice cream with chocolate swirl. He ended up just eating it outside, sitting on the wooden edge of a raised flower bed. I just hoped I wouldn't mess up my chances of talking to him at the church picnic, or that he would even want to give me the time of day.
A/N: Hey guys, I hope you enjoyed this first chapter. :) There should be more interaction between her and Leo in the next chapter. And I should be mentioning the main girl's name then. Lol. I've done this before where I forgot to use the main girl's name in the first chapter. Also, this story is set in like the early 2000s, but Leo's a teenager in it. And the title is Laur Elle's song, "Delayed Reaction," while the description is lyrics from it too. Anyway, please remember to comment, vote, and follow. Thank you so much! <3
YOU ARE READING
Delayed Reaction || Leonardo DiCaprio
Fanfiction"You were the best thing that I ever had to let go."
