Don't Touch || BOYxBOY ✔️

24

Leo woke up on Sunday morning with an empty feeling in his chest. His mind was still spinning from yesterday and his phone, which was lying face up on his bedside table, was a silent reminder of his ongoing turmoil. He looked at his phone first thing in the morning, hoping to see a response from Dante, but unfortunately the screen remained dark and unresponsive.

Leo skipped breakfast and spent most of the day cooped up in his room. He decided to get on with some of his assignments. If there's one thing Dante had taught him, it was that university was kind of important. If Leo had any hopes of graduating at the same time as his friends, or at all, then he needed to get a shift on.

Drowning out his thoughts with his headphones, Leo sat at his desk with his laptop open, his knee bouncing to the beat of the music. He bashed away on the keyboard and tried to focus, a small frown on his face. He stayed like that for the next three hours.

He finally decided he couldn't stay cooped up inside any longer and couldn't focus anymore. He needed to clear his head, to get away from the four walls that seemed to be closing in on him. Grabbing his jacket, he left the house quietly, not wanting to run into anyone else. The afternoon air was crisp and cool, a sharp contrast to the stuffiness inside, and Leo welcomed the change.

He started walking with no particular destination in mind. The city was still quiet because it was a Sunday and the streets were relatively empty except for the occasional jogger. He stuck his hands in his pockets, his breath puffing out in little clouds as he walked, each step helping to ease some of the tension in his chest.

As he wandered through the park near his house, Leo let his thoughts drift. He tried to push away the memories of everything that was relating to Dante, like the coldness in his friend's voice or the way Dante had made him feel. But the more he tried to forget, the more vividly those memories resurfaced.

Eventually, he found himself at the park bench where he and Dante had spent so many late nights together smoking a blunte. The bench was a quiet reminder of better days, when things between them had felt uncomplicated, new and easy. Leo sat down, running a hand through his hair, and closed his eyes.

He knew that Damon, Aaron, and even Sophie were right, he needed to give Dante space. But the waiting, the uncertainty, gnawed at him. It felt like trying to hold onto something that was slipping through his fingers, and the harder he tried to grasp it, the more elusive it became.

Sitting there, the park slowly coming to life around him, Leo finally allowed himself to fully confront the possibility that things might not go back to how they were. The thought was like a punch to the gut, leaving him breathless. But he knew he had to face it, had to prepare himself for whatever might come next.

Hours passed as he sat there, lost in thought. People came and went, their lives continuing in the normal, routine ways that seemed so distant from Leo's current reality. Leo missed his family so much and he couldn't wait to see them over Christmas break. It was nearly the end of November so there wasn't long to wait, but it still felt like too long.

Eventually, Leo sighed and he stood up, feeling the stiffness in his limbs from sitting for so long. He couldn't hide out in the park forever, no matter how much he wanted to.

Heaving another sigh, Leo started the slow walk back home. The air was still cold and the sun was descending from high in the sky. It was growing darker; just as he liked it.

As he reached his street, he saw someone sitting on the front steps of his house. His heart skipped a beat as he recognised the figure immediately; it was Dante.

For a moment, Leo stood frozen, his mind racing. It wasn't just that Dante was here, sitting on his doorstep; it was the fact that Dante had come to him which was something completely out of character. Dante was the type to retreat into himself, to push people away when things got tough. For him to show up like this, unannounced, after everything that had happened, was... shocking.