Love is Beautiful (She's so Ugly)

Before the Ball Special

Before the ball, Brandon had invited everyone to take a long night drive. They all met up at the park near Merida's house. Since Beth was back, she only allowed her daughter to ride, not drive.

"Leo! Be careful, okay?" Beth said with narrowed eyes. "Bring her back safe and sound."

Leo chuckled. "Of course, Mrs. Hollyn."

Beth then waved at them. Though she really worried, she knew she couldn't clip her daughter's wings. As for Leo, that boy — she knew him.

At their meeting place, Brandon was already giggling when everyone showed up: Lisa, Yuri, Merida, Leo, Jacob, and himself.

"Okay, so the boys will take whoever they want to ride in their cars, alright?" Brandon announced.

Lisa frowned. "It should be the girls choosing!"

"Hush, Lisa!" Brandon snapped. "I came up with this, so you better hush and let us decide."

Lisa rolled her eyes and scowled at him.

No one else objected, so Brandon picked first. Since he was moving on from Merida, his best pick was Yuri. "I'm taking Yuri," he stated.

Yuri hid a smile since she liked Brandon. "Nice pick, jackass!" Then Brandon and she high-fived.

Next was Leo. Jacob thought for sure he'd pick Merida, but to everyone's surprise, he took Lisa's hand and pulled her close. "I'm taking Lisa," he said with a smile.

Merida didn't know why, but her heart ached the moment Leo chose Lisa without hesitation. That left her no choice but to ride with Jacob. Hurt, she immediately climbed into his car.

"Bro, why did you—" Jacob and Brandon were about to ask, but Leo cut them off.

"You let me choose, didn't you?" Then he slipped inside his car.

Jacob clenched his jaw and went to his. The rule was windows down, follow Brandon, and have fun. But how were they supposed to have fun now?

As they started driving, Jacob cleared his throat. "I'm sorry you're with me."

"It's no big deal," she replied quickly.

"If you want, at the next stop I could talk to—"

"No!" Merida snapped, glaring at him, her face annoyed. Now Jacob was sure she had some kind of feelings for Leo—or so he thought.

"Alright," he whispered. "I'm sorry."

Now Merida felt guilty. "I'm sorry too. I didn't mean to snap at you like that."

Jacob forced a smile, though his chest ached. He wanted to know. "Do you... have some kind of feelings for Leo, Love?" His grip tightened on the steering wheel as he asked.

Merida looked out the window. "I don't know. I might have feelings for him." She believed honesty mattered.

He chuckled his pain away. "Let's stop thinking about us for a while and enjoy this night Brandon planned. It won't be long before we're at the bonfire site."

"Yeah..." she muttered.

Meanwhile, in Leo's car, he kept changing the music while Lisa did the same. Each time, the other groaned in frustration, until Leo laughed.

"Quit it, Leo!" Lisa yelled.

"You quit it!" he chuckled.

"I didn't know you could be this annoying!" She rolled her eyes.

"Yes, because you happen to hate my music," he teased.

They fell silent for a moment until Lisa cleared her throat. "Thanks for saving me earlier. I'm really trying to move on, and being with him seemed like... not a good idea."