PERMANENT - Leonardo DiCaprio

Chapter 28 -Better Reunions

Friday 3pm (3 weeks later)

Me and Aaliyah were strolling laps around the airport, trying to waste the time away. As usual, Aaliyah was busy chatting away, stopping every so often to point out the 'airport travel hotties' as she called them. She had been staying at my apartment ever since I got back to make up for lost time, and it had been nice to have someone to see each morning - I would have felt lonely otherwise.

There was an outflow of people coming out of 'arrivals', so we walked back to the crowd and stood around.

Aaliyah kept rambling "I mean if I wanted to quit, I could, but then I'd have the one job and I don't know how I'd be able to pay my rent because my apartment is huge - too big for me..." I stopped listening when I saw him walk through. He was wearing a baseball cap and sunglasses even though he was indoors, with his head down low. I could tell it was him just by his walk.

"....but maybe if I had someone to share it with," Aaliyah was oblivious as to my lack of attention, still speaking, until she looked over at me. "Pen? Helloooo?" She waved a hand in front of my face, but I didn't react, smiling ahead of me, so her eyes travelled to where my gaze was, and I could hear her choke on her own saliva, sputtering next to me.

He looked up, and even though I couldn't see where he was looking because of his darkly tinted sunglasses, I knew he had seen me because he flashed that amazing smile that I had come to know so well. As soon as I saw it, I couldn't help running towards him, like instinct.

I threw my arms around his neck when I finally reached him, ecstatic to finally be able to hug him again. He let out a wheeze of air as my body hit him, on impact, and his left arm instantly snaked around my waist tightly. He then let go of the bag he was holding, and his right arm one wrapped around me too, pulling me even closer to his body.

"It's so good to see you," I whispered against his neck. He turned his face to kiss the top of my head. "Likewise, gorgeous," he replied with a smile.

I heard Aaliyah clear her throat behind me and I came to my senses, letting go of Leo.

"Leo I want you to meet my best friend Aaliyah, you know, the one I told you about." Leo gave her a warm smile and put a hand on her left upper arm, giving her cheek to cheek kiss on both sides.

"Best friend, huh? Looks like I have some competition Nel," he joked, not realising Aaliyah looked like she was going to cry, she was that star struck. She was standing there shaking slightly and I could see her subtly wipe her palms on her jeans.

She swallowed a lump in her throat and spoke up "I'm such a huge fan, this is- I mean wow meeting you is really really surreal right now," she laughed a nervous laugh. He chuckled, giving her a side hug with his arm around her shoulder. "Thank you I appreciate that. And a friend of Nel's is a friend of mine." He said, squeezing her shoulder and letting go.

Here I was, with the two people that meant the most to me, I was living my dream job, and had collected my $2 million pay check only yesterday - I was content to say the least. It was like a dream, and I hated to think that if I had never made this move to the US, my life would be completely different. I made a mental note to contact Grant, my agent and thank him for this opportunity - it was him that accepted to be my agent even when I had no acting experience in England, and it was him that got me onto Titanic.

"Alright ready to go?" Leo asked, rubbing his hands together, eyebrows raised looking at me.

"Yeah my car's not far, let's go." I said as Leo picked up his bag again.   Aaliyah's phone rang and she picked up reluctantly, afraid that if she took her eyes off of him, he'd disappear. She walked a couple of steps in front of us, pressing down on her right ear to block out the sound.

Leo wrapped his arm around my shoulders, his hand hanging down tickling my face, and looked down at me. "Reunited again, Nel and Leo," he announced quietly. I grabbed the hand that was falling by my face. "Dream team am I right?" I laughed. He looked up ahead of him again with a smirk as we walked "Something like that."

//

"No! No way, please don't- hey-" Leo's melodic voice rang out as he tackled me to the ground, where I was sitting on the carpet trying to put the 'Basketball Diaries' into the DVD player.

"No just let me do it please," I wheezed for air as I laughed, my arm outstretched to the TV. I was on my back now, laughing uncontrollably as Leo tried his hardest to reach for the DVD. As his tactics were failing, he climbed on top of me, pinning me down to the floor so that he could easily grab the DVD out of my hands. We were still laughing, until it faded out and we were just breathing exaggerated breaths, him still on top of me. His eyes glistened in the sun that was hitting his face through the window, and they traveled down to my lips, anticipation on his face. He licked his own rosy lips quickly. This couldn't happen again...or could it?

"Do you have another beer?" Aaliyah asked as she emerged from the kitchen with 2 beers in her hands. Her eyes fell down to us "oh my...what's going on here?" Her eyes were widened, the poor girl was overwhelmed enough as it was.

Leo unhooked his legs from me and got off quickly, lifting his weight off me, the DVD still in his hand. I supported myself up on my elbows, still lying on my backside "Can you believe he won't let us watch 'The Basketball Diaries'?" I moaned, but with a smirk.

"It's weird watching a film I'm in with a bunch of girls. Nel you'll understand soon too and then you bet your ass I'll say 'I told you so'." He said, lying against the cushions of my couch.

"Oh so we're a 'bunch of girls' now are we?" I said as I threw a cushion that lay beside me on the floor at his head. He swerved just in time and caught it, snorting as he did so.

Soon enough, his eyes wandered to the DVD collection. "Ooh 'The Godfather yes, I vote that one." He hurried off the couch and put it on before we could object, so we just admitted defeat as the film began to play. And just like that, everything was back to normal.