Leon Urie (Adopted By The Uries) ~COMPLETE~

Chapter Thirteen

“Ready to be back?” Brendon asked, sitting down next to Leon.
  Leon nodded. “Yeah, I think so.”
 It was the day after the tour finished, and they were sitting in an airport, waiting to board their flight home.
  Brendon had bags under his eyes, and Leon wondered how long he'd stayed up after Leon had already fallen asleep. Even though the world tour was still upcoming, Leon knew that his dad was a little sad that it was over for now.
  Brendon put an arm around Leon's shoulders, leaning back in his seat. Leon rested his head against his dad's shoulder, eyes falling shut.
  The flight was stressful. Leon had never been in a airplane before, and flinched nervously every time they hit turbulence. He didn't let go of his mom's arm for a long time.
  Finally, they landed, waited to get their luggage, then took a taxi home.
  After almost two months away, the house seemed unfamiliar to Leon. The dogs seemed to share Leon's need to readjust to this new-old environment. They sniffed around every corner and dust bunny before finally racing around the house again, yapping and jumping up at Leon and his parents.
  Later on, Leon was sitting on his bed, having unpacked about halfway before giving up tiredly.
  His phone buzzed, and he saw that it was a text from Frankie. Can you hang out today?? I wanna see my beautiful beano againnnn ;_;
  Leon grinned, face warm. He typed a reply. I'll ask my parents.
 He slid off the bed, padding downstairs. He paused in the hall to scratch behind Penny's ears, and heard low murmuring voices from the kitchen, wondering if he should bother his parents just then.
  Peeking around the corner, he saw Sarah and Brendon standing with their foreheads pressed together, talking quietly. They looked so peaceful that Leon turned around and headed back toward the stairs.
 “Sweetie?” Sarah's voice calling out made him pause.
 “Yeah?” he replied.
  “Come here for a second, okay?”
  Leon obliged. When he came around the corner, Sarah immediately engulfed him in a warm hug. Brendon put his arms around both of them.
 Leon pulled away. “I didn't want to bother you guys, but Frankie wanted to know if she could possibly come over for a bit…”
 “Sure, why not?” Sarah replied, looking at her husband to make sure he didn't have an objection. The latter shrugged and nodded.
 “Cool,” Leon grinned. He couldn't wait to see Frankie again. It had been too long.
  Ten minutes later, there was a knock on the front door, and Leon raced downstairs as he heard his mom open the door and greet Frankie warmly.
  Frankie had her long hair up in a messy ponytail, and was wearing her favorite My Chem t-shirt and a grey plaid skirt. When she saw Leon come down the stairs, she screeched, “LEON!” and launched herself at him. Sarah smiled at Leon and went back into the kitchen.
  The hug lasted for a while, and when they finally let go, Leon couldn't stop grinning. “W-wanna go upstairs? My room is kind of a mess right now, but…”
 “Have you even seen my room? Your mess is my clean, Leon.” Frankie grinned. She followed Leon up the stairs, and when they got to his room, she added, “Oh, and I got you a coming home present.”
 “Oh- you didn't have to-” Leon protested, but Frankie shushed him, pressing a small rectangular object swathed in yellow wrapping paper into his hands.
 “Shut up and unwrap it.” she told him with a slight grin.
 Leon gave in and carefully peeled the tape off, unfolding the paper. In his hand were two CD cases, one blue and one parchment-colored.
  “Frank Iero, Parachutes,” Frankie pointed at the blue one. “My Chem, Conventional Weapons.”
 “Whoa, thanks!” Leon said with wide eyes. “Where did you get these? I've been looking for them everywhere!”
  “I have my ways,” Frankie grinned coyly.
  Leon resisted the urge to immediately play Parachutes and hugged Frankie again.
  “Agh, I've missed you so much,” Frankie told him.
 “I’ve missed you too,” Leon puffed out his cheeks, suddenly finding it hard to look Frankie in the eye. He awkwardly backed away a little, eyes on the CD's in his hand.
 “Leon-” Frankie's voice was breathy, hesitant. “Um, I- I was going to break up with Jace anyway.” Her words were rushed.
 “Really? Why?” Leon finally looked at Frankie.
  “I- I understand if this sounds weird, but I realized I didn't care about him as much as I cared about you.” Frankie bit her lip. “Even though he was my boyfriend, I always texted you rather than him.”
 “I- really?” Leon stammered.
 Frankie shrugged, tucking a strand of hair that had come out of her ponytail behind her ear. “Yeah. You're just really important to me.”
  “That- that's so sweet of you to say, Frankie,” Leon smiled at her tentatively.
  “Anyway, sorry for being so sappy.” Frankie came to life again, plopping down onto Leon's bed. “You gonna play some music or nah?”
 School started up again two weeks after they returned. Leon found himself looking forward to the first GSA meeting of the semester, but dreading the rest of school. When school started, Leon found that on top of the heaps of schoolwork, Jace now seemed to have a personal vendetta against Leon and Frankie, but especially Leon, for reasons Leon could easily fathom. At first it wasn't too bad, just snide remarks, but by the end of the third day, Jace and two of his friends had taken to clapping their hands together loudly when Leon least expected it, making him jerk upright or drop his books. By the second week, Jace, probably annoyed at Leon's refusal to react, became downright violent about it. Leon wondered if Jace had anger issues.
 “Hey, loser,” Jace's voice made Leon duck his head involuntary as he walked down the steps. It was after school, the end of the second week, and Frankie was home with a stomach bug, leaving Leon to fend for himself. James had already gone to his volleyball practice. Leon ignored Jace and walked a short distance away, sitting down on the concrete to wait for his dad. Jace had been making snide remarks about him all day, loud enough for Leon to hear clearly.
  Leon hoped that Jace would just leave him alone if Leon ignored him, but no such luck. Leon was just replying to a text from his dad when he heard footsteps come up to him and stop. Glancing out of the corner of his eye, he saw that it was Jace. He sighed internally, wishing Jace would just leave him alone.
  “W-what do you want, Jace?” Leon sighed, without looking up at the tall teenager.
 “Stand the hell up, tranny.”
  Leon felt a surge of anger and disgust as he put his phone away and stood up. He tried to control his stutter when he said, “Don’t call me that.” out of the corner of his eye he noticed that the students who were still around had gathered to watch. Some of them had phones out, recording.
   “She was cheating on me the whole time, wasn't she?”
 “What?” This surprised Leon. He knew exactly who Jace was talking about.
 “You were tight with her the whole time. Lying bitch probably-”
  “Don’t call her that.” Leon's voice trembled slightly, not in fear but in anger. “D-don’t you punch her and then call her a- a- call her that for hating you.” he swallowed, surprised at his own outburst.
 Jace smirked. “I’ll call her whatever I want. What are you gonna do about it anyway, tran-”
 “Shut up!” Leon's voice was raised, shrill. His face was burning.
 “What is it, tranny? Does that trigger you?” Jace taunted.
 “Just leave me alone,” Leon stepped back, putting his hands in the pockets of his, feeling exposed and clammy. “Leave Frankie alone.”
 “Why would I do that? Cos of your rockstar daddy? No one even fucking cares about him or his ratchet wife-”
 Leon didn't exactly remember what he did then, but he knew it ended up with Jace clutching his face, and Leon's knuckles stinging from the impact. Leon hadn't known until that moment that he could punch like that.
 Jace laughed, but there was something harsh and scary in the sound. The students around them were yelling in disarray, some urging them on, some telling them to stop. No one seemed to care about Leon.
 After that, it was a blur of fists and pain and fear for Leon, for about five minutes.
 “Whoa, whoa whoa whoa, break it up,” a loud voice boomed. Leon stumbled away from Jace, looking around to find whoever had spoken. He caught sight of the PE teacher, Mr. Roberts, making his way through the crown of students. He suddenly remembered that Mr. Roberts was Jace's dad.
 “Leon, Jace, come with me.” Mr. Roberts boomed, and Jace shot Leon a venomous glance before following Mr. Roberts. Leon closed his eyes for a moment, asking himself what the hell he had gotten himself into.
 Mr. Roberts brought them to the principal's office. Just when they arrived, Leon's phone rang, making him jump and dig it out of his backpack.
 “U-um, it-it's my dad- c-can I-?” Leon looked to Mr. Roberts, who nodded sternly.
 “Tell him to come to the principal's office, we need to deal with this. Jace, come with.”
 Jace grumbled under his breath, but complied, following Mr. Roberts into the principal's office, leaving Leon to pick up his phone.
  “H-hey,” Leon stuttered.
  “Hey, kiddo. Where are you? I'm at the front entrance.”
  The sound of his dad's voice, light and unconcerned, almost made Leon lose it.
 “Uh- um, I- I'm sort o-of in trouble,” Leon muttered so low he was surprised that Brendon could hear. “I- Mr. Roberts wanted you to- to come inside t-to talk to the principal.”
 “What happened?” Brendon asked, and Leon could tell his dad was wrinkling his forehead.
  “I- I- I got into a fight,” Leon mumbled.
  “What the hell?” There was urgency in Brendon’s voice, and Leon heard a door slam on the other end. Then his dad said, “Listen, I'll be there in two. Hang on.” Brendon hung up. Leon lowered his phone and blankly stared at the wall opposite him. Fear was washing over him in cold, clammy waves. He had done it, he had finally managed to disappoint Brendon, and it felt as though something inside him had broken. Tears pricked his eyes.
  Soon enough, a minute or so later, Leon heard footsteps in the empty hall, and Brendon came around the corner. Leon swallowed, hanging his head.
  “I’m sorry-” Leon started, but Brendon didn't respond immediately. Instead he enveloped Leon in a tight hug.
  “It’s okay, kiddo. It's fine.”
 Leon bit his lip, not believing his senses. “Aren’t y-you mad?” he stuttered finally.
  Brendon took a step back, taking in Leon's bruised face and bleeding, split lip. “Why would I be mad? I'm just worried. Are you okay? Who beat you up like this?”
 Leon bit his lip. “It was Jace- you know-”
  Brendon nodded. “Frankie’s ex?”
  Leon puffed out his cheeks and sighed. “Yeah… um- I guess I- I started it, really,” Leon admitted. “He- he was bad-mouthing Frankie and- and you, and he called Mom a- a-” Leon didn't finish. He crossed his arms tightly and looked away, trying not to cry. He was still outraged at Jace.
 “Mr. Urie?” The principal, a small woman with black hair and round glasses named Ms. Tiller, had opened the door and was ushering Jace and Mr. Roberts out of her office. Mr. Roberts’ face was grim, and Jace was unreadable as he marched past Leon and his dad without a second glance, but his jaw was clenched and his eyes were a little puffy, as if he had been crying. Leon wondered what Jace was in for when he got home, if he would be punished for fighting. Leon suddenly fully regretted throwing that first punch.
 Leon followed Ms. Tiller and Brendon into the office and sat in one of the straight-backed chairs.
 “Leon, do you know how serious fist-fighting on school property is?” Ms. Tiller asked crisply when she had perched herself on her chair behind the desk.
  Leon swallowed and nodded, averting his eyes. “I know.” his voice was small, timid.
  “Now, as I understand it, you attacked Jace first?”
 Leon bit his lip. “Yes, I- I punched him.”
  Brendon shifted in his chair and was about to say something, but Ms. Tiller spoke.
 “Mr. Urie, I understand that you are eager to defend your son, but I believe he should speak for himself on this matter. Now, Leon, tell me what happened, as you remember it.”
  Leon took a moment to gather his thoughts. “Um- s-so I was leaving school and he- he yelled stuff at me,” he studied his hands as he spoke, not daring to look at either his dad or the principal. “And he- he came over to me and- and told me to stand up. I did cos I- I don't know. I- I- was already mad at him. He keeps calling me and Frankie names when the teachers aren't around.” Leon paused, finally looked up at Ms. Tiller, wondering what she was thinking. “Um- th- then he insulted Frankie- called her, um, the b-word, and stuff, and- I got really mad. He also insulted my p-parents.” Leon focussed on his hands again. “And I just- I don't know, I punched him. And I'm sorry. I should have just ignored him…”
  “Violence is never the answer, Leon. That is a lesson that we try to enforce the best we can in this school.” Ms. Tiller spoke just as crisply as she had before, and Leon couldn't tell whether or not she believed his story.
 “I- yes,” Leon said. “I know.”
  “And despite the provocation, you should not have acted as you did.” Ms. Tiller continued. “This will be going on your permanent record.”
  Leon nodded mutely.
  “Thank you for telling the truth, however. I appreciate that.” Ms. Tiller said, then added, “Now, you will have detention next Tuesday through Thursday.”
  “What- what about Jace?” Leon said, then cringed. “I-I just meant-”
 “He is being dealt with according to his actions. You have no need to worry about anyone but yourself.”
  Ten minutes later, Leon was sitting in the passenger seat of his dad's car, staring numbly at LA as it slid past him.
  “He said some really shitty stuff.” Brendon broke the silence.
 “Yeah.” Leon looked over at his dad. “I still shouldn't have punched him. I should have ignored him.”
  “Everyone messes up once in a while,” Brendon stopped at a red light and looked at Leon, who was staring straight ahead again. “Don’t beat yourself up, kiddo.”
  Leon shrugged slightly and looked at his hands.
  A few minutes later, they pulled into the Uries’ driveway. Leon automatically grabbed his backpack and got out of the car before noticing that the sinking feeling in his stomach had returned. More than anything, he didn't want to have to tell Sarah what had happened at school. He hated the thought of disappointing her even more than he hated the thought of disappointing Brendon, if that was possible.
  Sarah came into the hall as Leon and Brendon were taking off their shoes. She began saying something, then noticed how Leon looked.
 “What happened, Leon?” Her eyes widened as Leon stood up, avoiding eye contact.
  “I- I got into a fight,” Leon mumbled. “I’m sorry.”
  The next thing he knew, his mom's arms were around him, gently hugging him. Then she pulled away, studying his face, which had blossomed with bruises since the fight. Her fingers gently ghosted over his cheeks.
 “Who did this to you?” Sarah asked gently.
 “Uh, J-Jace. B-but it was my f-fault.” Leon stuttered.
  “Jace was provoking him. It was not Leon's fault,” Brendon explained, and Sarah nodded.
  “I’m so sorry, Leon.” she murmured, pulling Leon into a hug again.
  Just then, Leon's phone rang, and Sarah let go so he could answer it. It was Frankie.
  “H-hi,” He greeted her.
  “Leon, have you been on Twitter? Did you really get in a fight with Jace? What's going on?” Frankie asked in rapid-fire without saying hello.  
  “Wh- y-yes, I- what was on Twitter?”
  “There’s a video going around! Someone recorded it and put it on Twitter.” Frankie paused, and Leon remembered the phones trained on him and Jace as they faced off.
  “O-okay, I'll look it up- thanks, Frankie,” Leon told her.
  “Wait. What really happened?” Frankie asked.
  “I- I'm sorry, Frankie, I- I can't talk about it right now.” Leon stammered.
  “Okay. It's okay. Tell me when you're ready,” Frankie sighed.
  “Ye-yeah, I will.”
 “Bye, love you.”
  “B-bye,” Leon hung up. He looked up at his parents, who were still watching him. “I- I'm going to go take a shower…” he muttered, feeling suddenly exhausted.
  Forty minutes later, Leon was showered and wearing clean, comfortable clothes, sitting on his bed. He finally unlocked his phone and opened Twitter.
 One of the first tweets he saw was on the topic he was looking for.
  The transphobia Leon faces at school is disgusting. Sending well wishes Leon. ❤️. Leon liked the tweet and continued until he found a video.
 It began when Leon had stood up, tiny compared to Jace, who was six feet of lean muscle. “Don’t call me that,” Leon from two hours ago said. Leon noticed how his voice had trembled, how, as the video went on, he stuttered more and more, clenching his fists, blinking to keep from crying. Then Jace insulted his parents, and Leon punched him. The person recording got distracted and their phone was pointed at the ground for a while, but Leon could hear himself yelling, even though he couldn't remember doing so. The video ended showing Leon with a bruise already blossoming on his cheek, looking in the direction of Mr. Roberts’ voice.
 That night, Leon had trouble going to sleep, mostly because he was scared of what dreams his mind might conjure up out of the day's events. Eventually, after about two hours of not being able to sleep, Leon slipped out of bed and down the stairs, thinking he'd drink a glass of water.
 He sat at the kitchen table, sipping the cold water and studying his knuckles, which were bruised and tender from punching Jace.
  “Hey, what are you doing up, kiddo?” Brendon's sleep-heavy voice made Leon look up to see him leaning against the doorway, wearing glasses and a sleepy expression.
  “Um- I c-couldn't sleep…” Leon muttered. “Did I wake you up?”
  “Nah, I'm having trouble falling asleep too.” Brendon sat down opposite Leon, resting his arms on the table top. “How are you holding up, Leon?”
  Leon exhaled, fogging up the inside of his glass of water. “I don't know.”
  “I watched the video, kid. He said some messed up stuff. I can barely blame you for snapping.”
  Leon looked down at his bruised knuckles, shrugging. He would never say it, but he wished Brendon hadn't watched the video.
  “Leon,” Brendon reached his hand across the table, touching Leon's hand gently, making Leon look up at him. “What is it?”
  “I just- I should have controlled myself. I know that violence isn't the answer, but-” Leon paused, biting his lip. He felt his eyes start to water. “I just… I lashed out. It-it scared me.”
  Brendon squeezed his son's hand gently. “Us guys lose control sometimes. It's a part of life, Leon. Hell, I don't know how many fights I got into when I was a kid.”
  “You got into fights?” Leon looked up at his dad quizzically.
  “Oh, yeah. I regret every one, of course,” Brendon replied. “But I never thought about it back then. You're far ahead of me when I was in your age.”
 Leon processed this information. “So… you got bullied as a kid?”
  “Yeah,” Brendon sighed. “I had a talent for acting ‘gay’. Whatever the hell gay acts like. Got a lot of bruises and detentions for that.”
 Leon didn't know what to say. He'd only ever known Brendon to be a confident adult, and now he didn't know what to do with this new information. “I-I-I’m sorry.” he finally muttered.
 “It’s a long time ago,” Brendon replied. “My point is that one fight isn't the end of the world. You're still one of the best kids I know. The best.”
 Leon was suddenly close to tears again. He pulled his hands out of his dad's grasp, feeling like he had somehow mislead Brendon without meaning to. He couldn't understand how Brendon could still believe in him.
 His distress was obviously not well hidden, because Leon heard Brendon's chair scrape back and a moment later his arms were around Leon. Leon gave in and buried his face in Brendon's t-shirt, finally allowing himself to cry.