Innocent

The Boy Next Door

To say Leo Whitman was my best friend is an understatement, as I have known him for the better part of my life. Despite his gaping flaws and refusal to be normal, he is still my closest friend besides Evelyn and Roxy. He also lives in the house next to mine.

Come Sunday morning, I'm already texting him.

Hey, you up yet?

Leo's years of social networking paid off again as he replied within the minute.

Wait, it's morning? I must've pulled an all-nighter. See you in 5

That's what I considered friendship to be; that I didn't have to ask to be answered. It had taken years of talking to get into this routine. Sure, he could be annoying, but being without him would be worse.

I was dressed in under two minutes and had a glass of juice for breakfast. Dad should know by now that Sunday was Leo-day, so I didn't bother to wake him up to tell him. I walked out of my brick house through the uncut, dry grass in the front lawn, down the crumbling road and through his wire gate. I could hear his infant brother screaming, and Leo yelling at him. He loved his brothers - and his older sister too - but I knew how crazy they made him. I knocked at the door, before I slowly twisted the metal knob and entered the familiar house.

Mrs Whitman - which is what I called her even when she insisted on calling her Paula - was in the kitchen, stirring what looked to be cake batter.

She smiled at me, "Leo's in his room."

"Thanks, Mrs Whitman." She laughed and went back to baking. Leo's room was on the far side of the rather plain living room, his door next to his younger brother's room. I opened the door to see him sitting at his chair, shirtless, headphones connecting him to his laptop.

I know what you're thinking; shirtless guy in a room alone with a girl. But there's one slight problem in that equation. Leo is, has been, and always will be the biggest anime addict I know. Not to mention he is extremely gay - he is open about it, ask him yourself.

I tap my finger on his headphone, just to tell him to shut down his laptop. He smiled, disentangles himself from his desk, and turns to me with a smile, his brown eyes shimmering under his blonde curls.

"Just got the latest season of High School DxD. Seriously, what's with all the topless chicks?" I laughed at him, and sat at the bottom left corner of his bed, facing his desk.

"Some guys like that kind of stuff," I said, trying to be the voice of reason.

"Yeah, well some guys don't understand the appeal of fleshy lumps on a chick's rib cage." Leo then made a disgusted face, wrinkling his eyes and nose into an appalled mess.

"I'll try not to take that personally, or the girls," I gestured to my chest, "may get insulted."

Leo nodded sympathetically, craned his head down, stared right at my breasts, then apologised for his behaviour. By that point, I was laughing uncontrollably, and even the corners of Leo's mouth were starting to curl up.

"So, what's new?" he asked - his eyes now focused on my face. My smile faded, as my thoughts turned to Benjamin. Although Leo was by far my closest friend, something in me couldn't divulge that information to him. Leo had known me since we were in primary school, and I couldn't ruin those memories by telling him this now.

"Nothing. What about you?"

"Hmm," he rested his index finger on his chin, his eyes looking into the distance, "just the usual depressing shit, like me being a useless fuck."

I should mention, Leo likes to swear. A lot.

"Now, now," I pat the top of his head, "you know I disagree. You're not useless, you're just young. We're all pretty useless, us teenagers."

"Like you can judge; mentally, you're five years old." I scoffed at his comment, reached for my designated controller, and waited for him to turn on his game. Sure, Leo was less of a gamer than Benjamin, but we had grown up playing video games. We've been trading games back and forth for years-

Oh, who am I kidding? My mind was completely occupied by Benjamin. Most predominatly, how to handle the situation at hand. I had so many questions for him, but a part of me didn't want to hear the answers, in fear of the truth. I was just like a little girl, afraid of losing her favourite toy.

I let my mind drift as Leo and I played video games, finding the routine placid and comfortable. We'd play, talk, eat, watch TV, then I'd go home, where I know I'd only be able to think about Benjamin. I guess I'd rather be with Leo, then home alone - sure, dad would be there, but as if I could talk to him about Benjamin.

No. The only people I can tell are Evelyn and Roxy, and they didn't even have time for one text message. I knew I couldn't keep the problem bottled up, but who was there left to tell?

Making things worse, Benjamin texted me.

Hey, how are ya?

A spark of annoyance grew into an inferno of rage in my mind. How did he think I was doing? My fingers found the keys, pressing them with fury.

What kind of question is that? After what you did, I'm surprised you don't ask me that from behind bars! Do you think I seriously want to talk to you now? The answer is no, no I don't. Have an nice life.

I stared at the unsent message, weighing up my options. But eventually, my love for Benjamin won out, and I deleted the message and replaced it.

Good. How are you?

***

I walked home that afternoon with my cheeks and ribs in pain from laughing with Leo so much. We had, as always, a great time. I had sat down at my desk, placing my phone face-down on the surface. My laptop beeped to life, as I prepared myself for my significant lack of contact with the outside world. But upon opening my emails, I noticed that an ETurner42 had sent me an email. And, for the first time in a while, it didn't hurt to smile.