Teenage Helpline

6 : 3 6 a m

Leigh stood quietly next to the police car, Fleur beside her, watching as the big mansion was being inspected. Her eyes felt dry after crying, and she was weary because of the lack of sleep, but nothing was as troublesome as the last conversation she had with Colton. She tried not to think of it as his last words, but it could be all the same. What he did, she wasn't sure of, but the most likely one was that he'd cut his wrist. Leigh wasn't sure how long a person could go before they die because of blood loss, but the police told her he'll be fine.

"Stop the emotionless staring, will you?" Fleur nudged her arm as she shoved some tissues into Leigh's hands. "I'm sure he'll be the boy who lived."

"You're riddikulus." Leigh blew her nose, trying to sound normal. To be honest, she felt really guilty to have not realised what Colton was trying to say earlier. She did have a teeny tiny crush on him, but she never thought that good of a guy would ever like her back. And now it's too late for anything, she thought.

Colton sounded like one of those super rich but super lonely kids. She wasn't sure of both, but he must have been at least 'Of Mice and Men' level of loneliness - as in to fall in love with anyone who shows affection, because it's such a simple yet wonderful thing they've never had the chance to experience before. Maybe that's what she couldn't give him. And rich... he must be very very rich, since this house looks more like a high-tech castle than just a mansion.

"Aww, Leigh look! A cat!" Fleur's voice dragged her back to reality, and Leigh looked to the side to see a cat, looking very much like Muffin, a.k.a Bast in The Kane Chronicles. The cat's yellow eyes met hers, and it meowed softly as Fleur picked it up. Leigh's gaze drifter towards the house, and then she saw people emerging from the gates.

Her instincts took over, and Leigh took off towards the stretcher as some people pushed it into the ambulance. She caught a glimpse of blonde hair as a police officer blocked her off, closing the strikingly white metal doors. He then told them to get into the police car and drove towards the hospital. At first, she thought he wasn't going to let them come, but thankfully he did; Fleur told her it was because he pitied all of the tears shedded, but Leigh waved her off.

The next hour flew by. They sat at the hospital, petting Bast and waiting as hospital-y stuff is done. Maybe she should be concerned, but all Leigh could think of was Colton. Okay, maybe that sounded stupid - how can you think of someone if you can't even imagine what they look like, much less what they did, what they might be thinking, and how they felt. She partly understood now why Colton didn't want to confess - there was never a specific, legit reason why their relationship might last. And also partly because of his broken ones before. Crush-love will probably always remain a mystery to mankind.

"Girls?" Someone called. "You can come visit the patient now."

All of a sudden, Leigh felt nauseous. This was the moment. The opportunity has finally come.

And suddenly she didn't want to grab it anymore.

Leigh didn't know if it was just nerves, or if she really didn't want him in her life, but the fact is just too overwhelming. For over two months, Colton Hemingway Skylark was only a client. A (possibly very) cute client with a gorgeous voice, an equally horrible music taste, a faithful willingness to stay up reading all night, a very cool cat, a ton of horrible puns, and... probably many more that she never knew she could discover just through the phone.

[Yep, just a normal client.]

"Just go already." Fleur nudged her hand. "You're so pretentious, Lele."

"Yeah, and you're adopted." Leigh glared back at her twin sister before standing up. This was a risk, but maybe this was one she should take. Crushing is already a pretty bold one. What's so wrong with just seeing him?

"He's right in there, sweetheart. Just be careful not to wake him. He still needs a rest." The elderly nurse told her with a smile before leaving. Looking back, Leigh saw her sister glaring at her phone, while the cat on Fleur's lap was watching her intently. Then it cocked its head.

Leigh drew a large breath and stepped inside, shutting the door behind her back.

The room was all white. The curtains were drawn. The sound of the AC purring filled the space. And on the crisply-made bed, was Colton.

He might have the hair colour she had imagined, but on the whole, he was... not necessarily hotter, but definitely more decent than she thought. Dark blonde, wavy hair framed his angular face. His lashes were of a colour so light Leigh could hardly see them; they cast vague shadows onto the dark circles under his eyes. He looked so pale - Hades-like, she thought, though this wasn't a very appropriate occasion for inside jokes - but she could still see, here and there, faint strokes of pink that at least proved he was still alive. His lips were slightly parted, though she couldn't really see if he was breathing at all. His left hand was bandaged up to the elbow, on his side, and his right hand was folded on his stomach.

Leigh must have stood there for a really long time with her mouth open, because the feeling of saliva escaping her lips hastily pulled her back to reality. She tiptoed over to the side of the bed, leaning down to inspect him closer, almost holding her breath all the way.

His eyes snapped open.

"Can you not?" Even though she was focusing so hard on not letting a scream escape her throat, Leigh could still recognised his voice. That same soft, velvety feeling as his words traveled through her ears. Only it was slightly deeper than when he talked over the phone.

"Did you really have to do that?" Leigh hissed as she hauled herself onto a plastic chair nearby.

"Did you really have to lean in that close?" Colton asked, his gaze fixed onto the ceiling. Leigh replied, annoyed:

"Well, maybe I did, since you obviously don't even want to look at me."

"What?" His head turned to her, and Leigh saw a pair of breath-taking green eyes. "I... Of course I want to look at you! It's just that I don't think I can handle it yet."

"My beauty is too much even for Hades." Leigh retorted, even though she herself was starting to heat up. Colton sighed:

"And I thought you changed."

"In your dreams. Anyways," Leigh straightened. "I'm here to make some stuff clear, okay?"

"I like you. Enough?" He replied almost instantly.

"N... no! Not enough." She glared at him with a pleasant embarrassment. "Why did you..."

"Because I-like-you. That's the reason to everything, Bruce. Think about it." Colton cut her off. He sounded pretty calm, even though Leigh could clearly see his insanely red face. She could have thought about what he said, but she chose not to dwell too deep. He'd confessed. With a face the similar colour to the hair of Ron Weasley and Clary Fray-Fairchild-Morgernstern-whateveritis's child (if they were ever to have one) (okay that was just wrong). And that, for a sixteen-year-long existence, is enough.

"Colt, you still remember the thing you asked me to do, right?" A playful smile spreaded on her face as Leigh asked. Colton looked over to her in confusion, then blinked:

"Oh. Yeah. Why?"

"You're as dumb as ever." Leigh made a face. "But, and insert cringing emoji here, will you go out on a date with me?"