Arya

Key to life

"Oh, take your shoes off."

"Oh, you must be Leonard."

He smiled, "every time you come here you say the exact same thing you know I'm Leonard."

"Anything new, Leo?" Ryder chuckled as he removed his brown suede Chelsea ankle boots.

"No."

"Sounds about right."

"Sou--" Leonard turned to look at him. "You think I don't have plans?"

"Leo, you never have plans."

"Hey, I'll tell you, " he reached for a small notepad that he uses to write in. "I have plans."

"Oh, yeah? What are they?" Ryder walked behind me.

"I have Thanksgiving, Black Friday, Christmas-- of course I don't have plans!" He placed the notebook back in its place, "I never have plans."

"Make some. Get out of this house."

"I've tried to make him go out with me but he doesn't want me."

"I hate people. People are moody, loud, annoying, crazy, and gross."

"If they're all those things how'd you end up here?"

"Never mind that." Leo walked over to fix the pillow on the couch. "Have you seen the things people are eating now? They're eating these oversized foods, greasy foods- I mean like they're making these- they opened a shop across the street and they sell these ridiculous foods. 100 layers of lasagna- they're putting chickens in watermelons. I was born in the wrong generation." He shook his head. "They manage to ruin every great song with their stupid moves." He scoffed, "I mean come on. You go outside and you'll most likely see a child on a phone."

"Have you guys seen Niagara Falls?" Ryder had his eyes on the island table.

"No, why?" I peeled an orange.

"Oh, no. Not Niagara Falls."

"It's just rocks and hardly any water. It's tragic."

"It is," I added.

"It's not even that. They've actually found human bones. Apparently, people have committed suicide there."

"If I were to take my own life, Niagara Falls isn't a bad place to do it." Leo distracted himself with a quarter that was on the counter. "They found the bones of a man and a woman. They state the man met his death by jumping into the waters of Niagara Falls. They think the woman witnessed her lover drown and decided to meet him in death at the same spot."

"Sad yet romantic," I commented.

"There were at least 40 people that committed suicide there." He added.

There was silence and Leonard decided to say, "way to kill the mood, boomer."

"Stop calling me boomer. You're two years older than me."

"Unfortunately, I am needed somewhere."

"You mean, fortunately?"

"No."

"No?"

"No." Leonard put on his shoes and left in a hurry.

"Does he know?" Ryder opened the fridge with his mind and pulled out two beers.

"No, and I'd like to keep it that way." I opened the cap with my mind and drank out of it.

"Why don't you just live alone?" He asked as he set the bottle on the island but I set a caster under the bottles. "Or with me."

"Look, Bambi-"

"Don't call me that."

"I don't want to live alone because I'll be just like you."

"What's wrong with me?"

"I don't want to use these abilities I was born with." I walked towards the back door, "and you know that."

"I know but they make your life so much easier."

"Life isn't supposed to be easy. As much as we'd like for it to be easy, it's supposed to be hard. Face the difficulties in life." I opened the door and Figaro was still in his house.

"Bruno," I called him out and he raced over to me.

"Rich people have it easy." He stood by the door.

"Just because they're rich, doesn't mean they don't face some struggles in life."

"Easy for you to say. You're rich."

"I am not rich. My parents are rich."

"Bullshit. You have money."

"Why do you always do this?"

"Do what?"

"Don't act like you don't know. Every time we talk and don't have a single argument you always have to find a way to make one. Always."

He scoffed and set the beer on the side burner of the grill.

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He scoffed with a little chuckle. "You entitled son of a bitch." He ran his hands through his hair.

"Oh, you're funny." I scoffed. "You're a funny man. Or should I say, boy? You are a boy."

"You have everything handed to you on a silver platter, and you squander it. You're given the world, and you can't appreciate it because you haven't had work for anything!"

"I am thankful for the things I have. For the friends I have. I know exactly how hard my parents work to get themselves where they wanted to be. Do not tell me that I don't appreciate the things I have. My parents gave me everything because they wanted me to have what they couldn't have."

"I'm about to lose it." He laughed.

"Don't treat me like I don't know how to do this."

"Oh, please."

"What, do you prefer me to drop this life and live the life where the money is the key to life?"

"You'll be doing yourself a favor." He turned his back on me to walk away but I grabbed his arm.

"No, no. You know what I think? I think it bothers you that I finally found something that I'm happy with."

"I think you should shut up and let go of me right now."

"Or is it because when I hit rock bottom I have mommy and daddy to help me back on my feet."

"I said let go of me."

"Fine." I pushed his arm back, pushing him back with my other arm. He pushed me with his other arm and I looked at him.

"Alright, let's see what got, Ryder."

"No." He backed up. "No, look, Claire, you don't want to do this."

"No, but I do." I pushed his shoulder again and he pushed me. I grabbed onto his shirt and used my power to push both of us against a wall. He grabbed my arms and pushed me up against a cabinet, dropping a plant, few books, a jar, and a clock.

I pushed him off of me and as we were holding onto each other, I tripped on his leg bringing both of us down. His back landed on the glass but he pushed me off of him and grabbed me to hold me down on the ground. Shards of glass we're now in my back. I punched him and used my powers and threw him off of me. As I got up he tackled me but I purposeful fell on the ground to flip him on the ground.

"Hey!" Leonard came in running towards us.

Ryder and I were both mad.

"What the hell happened?!" He had his eyes on the mess. "There's dirt and glass everywhere."

Ryder walked past me bumping my shoulder.

Leo looked at me confused. "What happened?"

The front door slammed and I looked at the mess.

"I'm sorry Leo. I'll clean this up." I tried to hide the pain I was in from the glass.