Leon Urie (Adopted By The Uries) ~COMPLETE~

Chapter Six

The bell rang faintly inside the house. Leon shifted from one foot to the other nervously. It was the Saturday after school started, and they were outside Frankie's house.
"Do you think they forgot?" He asked.
"I'm sure they didn't." Sarah told him comfortingly. "Don't worry, sweetie."
Leon worried.
Finally, they saw someone walking along the hall. The door opened, and a woman with short hair just as dark and curly as Frankie and Gray's greeted them. "Hi, so sorry for making you wait. You must be Leon and Sarah? Come in. I'm Primrose, Frankie's mom."
They did as she invited. Leon liked the way the house looked, all dark, reddish wood and floral rugs, comic books piled on the stairs.
"Frankie! Your friend is here!" Primrose hollered up the stairs. Then she smiled at Leon and told him, "You can just go up there and knock on her door, love. It has her name on it, you can't miss it. She might be listening to music."
"Have fun, Leon," Sarah told him.
"Thanks, Sarah," Leon told her, smiling as he headed up the stairs. He was still a little nervous, but he knocked on the door that proclaimed, "Frankie" in bold paper letters.
The door swung open violently a few seconds later, making Leon jump back in spite of himself.
"Hi! Sorry, I didn't hear you get here, I was listening to some music," Frankie told him in rapid fire.
"Hey, Frankie. It's okay, I just got here a minute ago." Leon said, smiling.
"Come in, come in," Frankie urged him. "I missed you!"
"You saw me yesterday..." Leon said with a smile.
"Exactly! I haven't seen you since yesterday. I missed you." Frankie repeated, and Leon blushed, giggling a little.
"I missed you, too," he admitted.
Frankie grinned and closed the door, then vaulted back onto her bed, her long hair, which was in two braids that day, swinging. Leon looked around at her room.
"Whoa, that's a lot of My Chemical Romance merch." He grinned.
"What can I say? I'm a hoarder." Frankie grinned and patted the bed next to her.
Leon sat down. "So.... hi," he said again, grinning goofily.
"Hi, Leon. I think we went over this already," Frankie replied.
"Oh, right." Leon blushed.
"Hey, before I forget, I listened to some Panic! At The Disco this morning. I can't believe I didn't do it earlier, the music is so good!" Frankie said excitedly. "I mean, the lyrics are great, his voice is uh-may-zing, the music videos are on point. I thought it was, like, pop, you know? But it's really good."
"I like it too," Leon said quietly, smiling. "I'm glad you do."
"I know this is weird to say, but he's also really hot," Frankie grinned.
Leon had never thought of Brendon that way, and shuddered to do so now. "Y-yeah, that's a little weird for me to hear..." he said slowly, his stutter reappearing.
"Okay, well, I won't say it again, I promise." Frankie said quickly. "Hey, you wanna watch some YouTube?"
"Sure," Leon was glad she had changed the subject.
"Okay, let's start with Dip and Pip," Frankie grabbed the laptop computer that was lying at the foot of her bed and opened it, tapping her fingers on the plastic as she waited for it to boot up.
"What is Dip and Pip?" Leon asked confusedly.
"Oh," Frankie laughed. "Dan and Phil. Their fans call them Dip and Pip sometimes. We also call them our dads a lot. Or our babies. We have a weird relationship with them. We also call Dan a rat pretty often."
"Isn't that sort of mean?"
Frankie shrugged. "He thinks it's funny, and no one means it seriously. It's sort of an inside joke for the fandom."
They watched a few videos. Leon thought the two YouTubers were hilarious, but he found himself watching Frankie watch the videos more than the videos themselves.
"So are you a Dannie or a Phillie?" Frankie asked him after the fifth video.
"You mean which one do I like more?"
"Yeah, I guess. I like both of them equally, and I think most of the phandom does as well, but for most people there's one who just gives them chills up their back, you know?"
"Um... well, Phil is super sweet. Like... even when he's trying to win against Dan, he can't help but root for him. I like that," Leon said slowly. "Neither of them really give me chills." (You give me those chills, his brain tried desperately to tell Frankie.)
"Oh right, I forgot that most of the phandom are girls and gay boys," Frankie laughed. "Don't worry, one of them will turn you gay eventually. Just you wait."
"Which one are you- a Dannie or a Phillie?" Leon asked.
"I love Phil. Like you said, he's so sweet. And he went through a major glow-up last year, he cut his hair and did the quiff thing that he has now, and started being more confident- I'm just really proud of him, you know? And also attracted, not gonna lie," she added, grinning.
Leon giggled. "Okay."
Next, Frankie introduced Leon to Miles McKenna's YouTube channel. Leon liked his style of video and his humour a lot, wondering why Frankie kept glancing at him with a secretive grin on her face.
Then it hit Leon when Frankie clicked on a video that was titled "One year on testosterone."
"Oh my god- wait- Miles is trans?!" Leon squeaked, looking at Frankie with wide eyes.
Frankie giggled. "Yes! Took you a while." She grinned good-naturedly.
"I didn't even- whoa," Leon ran a hand through his hair.
The afternoon went by too quickly. Much too soon, it was time for dinner, and Leon was reluctantly resigned to go to bed. He was sort of tired, but still energetic and ready to do things.
"Wanna watch a movie? Or three?" Frankie asked, grinning, as they got back to her room after dinner. "Mom bought chips and stuff for us this morning."
"Oh- yeah! What movies do you have?" Leon replied.
"Everything that's on Netflix, and a bunch on DVD. What's a movie you've been wanting to watch?"
"Um..." Leon thought for a while. Then he remembered one. "I never got to see Love, Simon. Do you know that movie?"
"Yeah! That's my favorite movie," Frankie replied excitedly. "You seriously haven't seen it?"
"No... never got around to it," Leon admitted.
The movie was great. After finishing it, they talked about Simon and the Panic! At The Disco mention. Suddenly, Frankie grabbed Leon's knee and looked him in the eye, asking, "Have you seen Spiderman: Homecoming?"
"Um... no?" Leon replied. "Should I have?"
"It's only starring my favorite actor of ALL TIMES," Frankie sighed dramatically. "I love him so much."
By the time the movie was over, Leon was actually tired, and so was Frankie. They brushed their teeth and Leon got into his assigned sleeping bag. He'd taken off his binder before the movies, wearing a big sweatshirt that hid everything.
Before Frankie switched off the light, she told Leon, "Good night, you adorkable bean."
"Good night, Frankie," he replied.
Leon fell asleep almost immediately, but Frankie took a while to calm down. When she was finally drifting off, however, she heard Leon muttering to himself.
"No- you're hurting me. Dad, you're hurting me. Leave me alone!" He spoke in his sleep. Frankie held her breath, eyes wide in the dark as she listened Leon's story unfold.
"Dad- please, please leave me alone-" Leon was half-sobbing now. Frankie sat up and swung her legs over the side of her bed, feeling along the floor until she got to Leon's air mattress.
"Leon, wake up," Frankie touched Leon's shoulder hesitantly. "Wake up, Leon. Come on."
Leon stopped muttering. "F-Frankie?" His normal voice asked in the dark.
"Yeah, it's me. You- you were talking in your sleep, I think you had a nightmare or something..." Frankie said softly.
"Sorry," Leon's voice was tiny and embarrassed. "I'm sorry. Just- go back to bed.... I'll be okay-"
Frankie slowly obliged. "Are you sure you don't need anything?" She asked once she was back in bed.
"... yeah," Leon said after a pause. (I need Brendon, his mind whined.) "P-please, go to sleep, Frankie. I'll explain in the morning."
Leon barely slept. When he finally drifted off, it was almost time to wake up already.
Frankie woke up just a few minutes after Leon had fallen asleep. She remembered the events of early that morning and carefully peeked over the edge of her bed at Leon's now-serene, sleeping face.
When Leon finally woke up, it was nine-fourteen a.m. He sat up with a start, heart pounding and disoriented about his place on the floor in a room he wasn't used to. Then he remembered that it was Frankie's room, and relaxed.
"Good morning, sleepyhead," Frankie's voice made him turn to look at her. She was sitting on her bed. She looked concerned about him.
For a moment, Leon wondered why, but then he realised he'd had a nightmare yesterday. He must have been talking in his sleep.
"Sorry about yesterday... I get nightmares sometimes, talk in my s-sleep..." Leon stuttered to a halt, as Frankie still looked concerned, biting her lip. "What is it? Did I say something awful w-when I was sleep, or-?"
"Not awful, I just..." Frankie trailed off as well. "Is someone- hurting you?"
Leon's eyebrows shot up, then slowly drew together pensively. He sat on the very edge of Frankie's bed, thinking.
"You were s-saying things like, 'stop, dad, you're hurting me', and- and- I just don't believe Brendon would-"
"No! I- no- I don't even call Brendon Dad yet..." Leon assured her with wide eyes. "I don't know. I don't remember anything about my real dad..."
Frankie cautiously touched Leon's shoulder, face stricken. "I'm so sorry, Leon."
Leon shrugged, looking at the floor. "It's okay, I guess. I-it's always been that way."
"My mom's a mystery writer, but she researches a lot of the thing she writes about... she told me that when something happens in- in a person's life that's so awful they can hardly- hardly bear it, the brain just puts up a mental wall, and the person can't remember the event- except sometimes in dreams- do you think that that's maybe what...?"
Leon shrugged again. "Maybe..."
Frankie hugged him tightly. "You're the sweetest person I know. You don't deserve what life did to you." She mumbled.
When Brendon picked Leon up that afternoon, the latter was tired but happy, despite what Frankie had said. After the events of the morning, they'd had a breakfast of donuts and hot chocolate, and played video games while listening to My Chemical Romance and Frank Iero (as promised) until lunch. After lunch, (ramen noodles) they'd taken a long walk, talking about the movies they'd watched yesterday and other movies they wanted to watch together. At 4:30, Leon's dad came to pick him up.
"How was your sleepover?" Brendon asked as Leon got into the car.
"It was great," Leon replied fervently. "We watched Love, Simon."
"Great movie," Brendon agreed.
At Brendon's request, Leon gave him a rundown of the rest of his time at Frankie's house, avoiding the topic of his nightmare.
When they pulled into the driveway of the house, Leon saw that there was an unfamiliar car parked on the side of the road in front of the house.
"I-is anyone visiting?" Leon asked hesitantly as he got out of the car.
"Yeah, a friend of mine who's in town today," Brendon said with a slight smile that made Leon wonder who this friend was. "He's been dying to meet you all summer."
Pete Wentz was sitting in the Uries' living room, chatting away with Sarah. Leon recognised him from music videos he'd watched over the summer. Fall Out Boy had become one of Leon's favorite bands, and now, in the presence of the man who had helped create all those songs that Leon loved so much, Leon was mute and scared stiff.
"Hey, Leon," Pete said, looking up when they walked in.
"U-um, hi, Mr. Wentz-" Leon stuttered.
"Call me Pete, kiddo. How're you?"
Penny and Bogart were dancing around Leon's feet, craving his attention, and they sort of woke him up. "Um- I'm good, h-how are you?"
"I'm doing pretty good," Pete replied, with a calm half-smile. Leon realised Pete was trying to help him calm down, and fought to control his stuttering.
"I love your band," he said finally.
"That's high praise, coming from you. Brendon says you have a refined music taste, so I thank you," Pete told him. Leon smiled, blushing a little.
"I just- listen to whatever makes me feel, you know- feelings..." Leon trailed off. "Sorry, that wasn't really descriptive."
"Nah, I think I know what you mean. All any musician is trying to do is make you feel their feelings, anyway," Pete replied, and Leon nodded, then looked down at the bag in his hand, and at his wrinkled, twice-worn outfit.
"Um, I'll be right back, I-I have to put my stuff in my room- if that's okay," Leon looked at Brendon, who nodded.
"I'll still be here when you come back," Pete assured him, grinning.
Leon hurried upstairs, throwing his bag onto his bed and going to the bathroom to fix his hair. He ended up brushing his teeth as well, and putting on more deodorant and a fresh t-shirt (a black one with Frank Sinatra's face printed on it that Brendon had somehow procured for him). He changed his socks as well, and grabbed his sketchbook and coloured pencils on his way out.
He paused on the stairs, hearing the adults' voices get low. He didn't want to snoop, and was about to go into the living room and announce his presence, when he realised what, or who they were talking about.
"He's very nervous around new people," Sarah was saying. "And crowds."
"He seems like a great kid, though. Just introverted." This was Pete.
"Yeah. He is great, you just need to get to know him." Sarah again. Leon smiled a little bemusedly, wondering if he was a great kid. I'm just Leon, he thought. Not great, and not awful, either.
"Do you have any info about where he came from?" Pete asked.
"No, other than that he got to the adoption center when he was six years old. Someone called social services on his dad for... well, what I said earlier." Brendon's voice replied. Leon swallowed. What had his dad done to get social services called on him? He listened harder.
"Aw, the poor kid. Is that why he's so skittish, you think?" Pete asked, sympathy clear in his voice.
Leon had been fiddling with his ballpoint pen nervously, and now his sweaty fingers slipped on the plastic, and the pen went flying. He hurried after it as the adults' voices halted for a moment, then returned at normal volumes. Sarah asked Pete about his kids, Pete replied amicably about how they're crazy and how lucky Sarah and Brendon were to have sweet, gentle Leon.
Leon didn't mention what he had heard. He was too busy thinking about it, processing the new information, putting it under the file of information he knew was important, but didn't know what to do with at the moment.
Pete asked him a few questions about school, and Leon answered with the truth; though he found himself putting a positive spin on everything, even stressful things like eating lunch in the huge cafeteria every day.
Leon was burning with some of his own questions, about Pete's lyrics and Fall Out Boy's music, and finally gathered the courage to ask some of them.
Pete answered each of his questions comprehensively, and Leon felt like he should be taking notes.
After a while, Sarah went to the kitchen to start on dinner, and Brendon excused himself, saying he was going to go turn on the grill.
"Can we join you outside, or is getting away from us the reason you're going?" Pete asked, as Brendon was about to leave the room.
Brendon chuckled. "Shut up and get your ass out there, Wentz, you know I can't go a minute without your company."
Leon snickered as Pete put a hand to his heart, with an exaggeratedly flattered expression.
It was a nice, warm early-fall afternoon. The patio in the backyard was well lit, and the lights reflected in the pool, occasionally rippling when a gust of wind blew through. Leon and Pete continued their conversation on music as Brendon turned on the grill and helped Sarah set up a table.
"Have you ever had the chance to try an instrument?" Pete asked.
"Um... well, at school I'm starting to learn trombone for Band," Leon said. He'd picked the instrument because it seemed so fun, and he'd been right. He loved it. "I've only played it twice so far..." he added sheepishly. "But I like it."
"Trombone is cool, kid, but Brendon," Pete raised his voice to demand of Brendon, "Leon has lived in your house for, what, four months now, and you haven't had him try out any of your instruments?"
"Hey, we've all been busy," Brendon put up his hands, one of which had a pink oven glove on it, in defense.
"It-it's okay, I'd probably be bad at them anyway," Leon shrugged.
"I'll tell you a secret, kid," Pete said conspiratorially, leaning on the armrest of his chair toward Leon. "If you wanna be really cool, you gotta play bass guitar. You get all the girls when you play bass. And all the boys," he added, winking at Leon.
"Dude, electric bass is easy," Brendon said, snorting.
"Whatever you say, Mr. I-Play-Ten-Instruments." Pete shook his rolling his eyes at Brendon fondly.
Dinner was fantastic, but by the time they'd finished, Leon was almost falling asleep in his chair. The short night yesterday was weighing on him.
"Hey, you look really tired, kiddo. Did you even sleep last night?" Brendon asked when he noticed Leon's frequent yawns.
"Not a lot... I had a nightmare- I'm fine, though," Leon added quickly, not wanting them to worry. "I think I might go to bed now, though..."
"Go ahead," Brendon told him.
"Pleasure meeting ya," Pete patted Leon on the shoulder as Leon got up. "You've got a good brain for music."
"Thanks, Pete," Leon said earnestly, then frowned, wondering why Brendon snorted and then snickered into his fist. "Did I say something funny?"
"Jesus," Brendon tried not to laugh. "Look up thanks, Pete on YouTube."
"I swear, you're the only one who still thinks that's funny, Brendon." Pete said as Leon walked in the direction of the house.