Looking For Leo

2: Longing

AUTHOR'S NOTE: Ready for the plot twist? ;)

Angela lies in her bed, staring at everything her eyes could wander to. But her mind was focused on one thing: that mysterious hero that saved her. She felt too special. She felt grateful. She wanted to let him know how much she appreciated his help in her time of need.

She sat up and held the hoodie close to her. Just one chance to meet him and to thank him, she thought. How fulfilling it would feel if she got to speak to him up close. A strange, mysterious hero finally coming out and hearing her out was too good to be true. But she hoped for it too much that she had an idea.

Angela looks up everything she could find about the myth of the mysterious hero. She reads articles, parodies, fake news--anything that could possibly hint where she could casually bump into him again. She thinks of addressing it publicly, but then again, the hero would probably not like the spotlight. But how? She asks herself.

Desperate, Angela shuts her laptop off and walks over to her window pane, slumping her legs on the bed. She looks out and notices that the day had gone by so quick it was already in the afternoon. She decided to sit in solitude and just hope that the hero would come by her window. She imagines various things, as long is led to the idea of her meeting him again.

Angela smelled the hoodie and shook her head, thinking how ridiculous it is to even hope for something crazy.

What if he's some kind of weirdo? What if he's actually a superhero? What if he's a psychopath? What if he's from a different dimension? Planet? 

Angela sat by the window pane and wondered and wondered. She had spent her whole time thinking that it led her to a myriad of crazy scenarios. And she knew that she would still be prepared for it.

---

Leonardo stands on top of a building, cautiously watching above the city of New York. Patiently, he keeps his eyes wandering on every seat. One movement from a street, he glances. One flicker of a light, he squints. In a few seconds of silence, he finally decides to move to the south side of town. Then, the east. Then, the center.

Out of boredom, knowing full well that the city's criminals are hung up on the recent capture of men, Leonardo decides to leap from building to building. Random buildings are patrolled, jumped on, leapt to. Then, a familiar block reminded him of a certain memory.

He remembers her that night. He wonders how she was. Is she still in her apartment? Leonardo remembers how quick it was for him to discover where she lived. He kept an eye on her as she headed back home in the cab. Stalkerish, he thought, but really he just wanted to return her hoodie. He remembered the way she looked that night in bed. He felt guilty seeing half of her body almost exposed under the moonlight from her window. He immediately looked away, hung the hoodie by the ladder, and left.

Leonardo's curiosity bugs him. He just wants to see how she is. So, he makes his way to her building and quietly peeks from the other building. It's easy to spot her since her window is open. There, Angela sits reading a book with the help of the moonlight.

He keeps his eyes on her. He realizes he wants to see more of her. Leonardo cautiously jumps to a closer building to see her better. The closer he gets, the better view he sees of her. He feels his heart flutter yet he disregards this and calls himself a lame-ass for even thinking that way. He gets distracted when she places the book on the pane and turns around. Her back is now to him. He wonders what she's doing. He squints and sees that she's watching the television now.

Leonardo completely forgets patrolling and ends up watching Angela. She would casually look behind her to glance at the sky. She looks bothered, he thinks. He wishes he could approach her and ask how she was. But why would he? Why should he?

He ends up sitting at the ledge of the building, hidden in the shadows. He watches her. Just this one time, he tells himself, he'll take a break and watch how she is.

It was his first time saving a girl alone, anyway. Girls would usually not stroll around in the middle of the night. But there she was. Leonardo thought she was crazy for strolling at the alley like it was a park. Saving her made him feel relieved that she was saved before they could even do anything to her. He was ready to leave until she paused to thank him. 

How soft of me, Leonardo thinks and continues to dis himself for staying just because she thanked him and looked rather beautiful. But it would be fine if none of his brothers knew, he adds. Watching her read is harmless, anyway?

Angela moves and lands on her bed, but she keeps her elbows settled on the pane. She leans her cheek on top to conveniently watch the stars. Then he wonders why she was so fascinated at the sky. It makes him glance at the nightsky as well. Then, he glances at her.

---

Leonardo realized he had been staying and staring for too long that it made him uncomfortable thinking about what she would think if she found out. But for some reason, he really did not want to leave. In fact, he was tempted to approach her and introduce himself since his mind teased him that maybe she would remember him. But then, his gadget vibrates, reminding him that it was 1AM. He had to leave.

Hesitantly, Leo clambers up but keeps his eyes on her. As he walked away, he could barely see her beautiful face, and it bothered him. But he knew he could always visit the next time.

When Leonardo arrived home, he's greeted by Donny with his laptop looking frantic. He approached him secretly, alarming Leo. He leaned in and asked what was wrong.

Donny made sure Mikey was not listening, "You sent those guys to the police station the other night, right?"

Leo paused and looked at Donny, "Yes?"

Donny cursed under his breath before glancing at his laptop.

"What?" Leonardo was confused,

"You have to see this." He scrolled across a website then paused to show Leonardo the headline from an anonymous blog:

Shadow Hero 22 JAN 18
This is a confessional I decided to write anonymously. I have briefly studied about the myth of the strangers whom most conspiracy theories online refer to as 'mysterious hero' and I think it was him who saved me that night. I thought it would be the end of me because of my stupid self deciding to take a walk outside. But he was there and he saved me. But he did not even show himself. I consider that as humility. But I wish to thank him again. If you ever happen to witness any sort of sign of his presence, reply to this post, please. It would definitely help my desperate need to express my gratitude to this mysterious hero.

Leonardo stared at the screen long enough for Donny to realize that he had no clue the woman would do such a thing just to look for him. He looks at Leonardo, "Do you know her? I mean, do you remember how she looked like at least?" He shook his head, "Leo we have to deal with this."

Leonardo could not respond as he was frozen, feelings battling in his heart and mind.