Home for Christmas • {Shannon Leto}

four - your eyes light up when you smile, freckles

Zane didn't hear from Shannon for a few days after that and was starting to think that maybe he wasn't ever going to make it up to her at all. Then, out of nowhere, he showed up at her parents' door at almost midnight one night. Her parents were upstairs and had been long-asleep, and she did her best to get to the door before he rang the bell when she heard his motorcycle pull up.

"What the hell are you doing here? Do you know what time it is?" she asked him, stepping outside to meet him. He was wearing a pair of tight black pants and an over-sized black hoodie that somehow just accentuated his muscular figure. She did everything she could to force her eyes to not linger on his body.

"I know what time it is," he whispered, and she could see his eyes sparkling even in the dim porch light. "Go put some clothes on," he told her, motioning to her pajamas; a light blue tank top and a pair of pink short-shorts.

"Come back during the day," she told him, crossing her arms and cementing herself to the spot she was standing in.

"Come on, Zane. Live a little," he said, smiling at her.

"I live plenty, Shannon. I just choose to do it during the day. It's the middle of the night and I don't like to be around people during the day as it is, I'm not going to surround myself with them in my quiet time too," she said and she saw him raise an eyebrow quizzically.

"Who says we're going somewhere with people?" he asked, and the look on his face told her that he vaguely knew that she'd been kind of talking about him.

"We're not going anywhere," she insisted, and he smiled again.

"Then I promise you that I will be here, on your porch, when your dad leaves for work in the morning. Am I really the first thing you want him to see on his porch when he walks outside?" he asked, knowing for sure that the answer was 'no'. Her dad had never really liked either of the Letos and Shannon obviously knew it.

"I could just call the police..." she told him and he laughed lightly in the back of his throat.

"You could, but you won't. Go get changed please, Zane," he whispered, taking a step towards her. He was suddenly so close that she could smell his cologne and, she thought, even his breath. It was a mixture of something woodsy and spearmint. She loved spearmint.

"Fine," she whispered, trying to ignore the smile that curled into his lips as she turned and opened the door. She motioned for him to follow her inside and then disappeared up the stairs.

She came back down a few minutes later, now clad in jeans and a simple band t-shirt. He surveyed her, making a noise of surprise when he landed on her shirt.

"You're wearing a... Mars shirt?" he asked, chuckling.

"Jared sends them to me. They're soft and cozy. Don't take it as an ode to you or anything," she said, smiling just slightly as he chuckled.

"Whatever you say," he said, rolling his eyes and winking. She almost told him to stop doing that because she didn't want to melt into a puddle on the floor but held herself back from doing so.

He led her outside and she started walking towards her rental car but he shook his head and pointed at his motorcycle.

"I'm not getting on a motorcycle with you driving," she said, and he nodded.

"Fine. You drive. Jared told me you have one back home. Can't say I expected that," he said, looking at her with shining eyes. He tossed her the keys and she caught them easily.

"I wish Jared would stop telling you things about me," she told him, and he laughed heartily.

"I feel like maybe we're a lot closer than you remember us being. There isn't much he doesn't tell me. I also know that you have a tattoo of a penguin on your lower back that you got when you were drunk in college and that you keep saying you want to get covered up but never actually do," he said, winking again and causing her to blush instantly.

"Fuck you both," she said, flashing him a small grin.

"Your eyes light up when you smile, Freckles," he told her, handing her an extra helmet. She shoved it on her head quickly so that he didn't see her blush again. She got on and started the motorcycle, wishing hers back home purred like this one did. It was decidedly significantly nicer than hers. He got on behind her, wrapping his arms around her waist in a way that made her entire brain feel just slightly fuzzy.