My Bully, My Neighbour

Chapter 7 (Edited)

Ikea was a jungle of furniture. "Where are we right now?" I asked bewildered as Leo looked around to find an employee who could guide us around. "I don't know, really. How much have we collected?" Leo asked absently. I sighed. He had asked me this question twice already. "We've only got the living room stuff. We decided on the sofas, the coffee table, the floor mat, lights and cushions. We still need the cabinets and table for the kitchen, storage cupboards for all rooms. Also, bookshelves, bedside tables, reading lamps, wardrobes and cupboards and mirrors for all bathrooms. Then there's the minor stuff like cup coasters and pins for the pin boards and magnets.. A FRIDGE! Oh my god we didn't put a fridge on the list!" I exclaimed and grabbed the pen that Leo had in his hand.

"Why didn't we move into a fully furnished house?" Leo muttered angrily. "We?" I asked him and he quickly amended his statement. "I mean you. Why couldn't you get a fully furnished place?" Leo asked. "Because papa thought I'll be safer with you." I said calmly. I could see that the vast amount of work left was starting to make him panic. "It's okay though. During the weekdays I can come and get the less important stuff myself. Let's just get the stuff we need right now. Relax okay, we can do this in instalments." I said, rubbing his back. Leo gave a tired nod and I smiled. He bothered to take me shopping when he could have easily left all the work to me, it showed that he cared. I said this to him and he pulled me into a side hug.

After two hours of discussing, debating and demanding, Leo and I walked out of Ikea. We paid a huge bill and I prayed that papa wouldn't be mad at my expenses. That reminded me that I hadn't called papa after reaching New York. Leo and I got into the car and I dialled papa's number. It was almost half past one in the afternoon in New York, which meant that it was nearing eight in the evening back home. Papa should be free now. The phone rang about thrice before papa answered. "Aria! How are you?" Papa sounded so happy to hear from me. You could sense his smile through the phone. "I'm good papa, how are you?" I asked.

"I'm fine. How's New York treating you? Is Leo helping you out?" Papa asked. "Yeah, New York's amazing. Leo's here with me. We just finished some shopping for furniture and we're heading home now." I told him and I heard him sigh. "Is the penthouse good?" Papa asked me. "Yes. It reminds me a lot of home." I said. "Not in a bad way, I hope." Papa laughed and I chuckled. "Listen love, I'm joining some people for dinner tonight, so I need to leave, but call me tomorrow, okay? I love hearing from my little princess." Papa said. "Yeah I will. Bye, papa. Have fun!" I said and I ended the call. "How's your dad doing?" Leo asked. "Having fun now that he's alone at home." I said.

"Look, the Ikea guys are right behind us in their truck. They'll be busy working at your place, so maybe you could come to my house for lunch. We could cook our own lunch and watch a movie, maybe." Leo suggested. I gave it a thought. Although it meant that I wouldn't be able to supervise the men while they worked, it meant that I could spend more time with Leo. Slightly shamefully I admitted that Leo won, hands down. "Sure. It'll be fun." I said.

Once we reached home, I directed the Ikea men as to how and where I wanted the furniture. The man heading the workers, Trevor, seemed to understand what look I was trying to achieve. After Trevor assured me that the work will be good, Leo took me to his house. It wasn't exactly what I had expected. I thought it would be like a typical TV teenagers room- dark and boyish. But Leo's house actually screamed Leo.

The walls of the living room were grey which contrasted the dark blue sofas. His kitchen was like a clean canvas that had small patches of colour here and there. His house changed my perception of him. "I'm going to change. I'll see you in five minutes. If you want you can go check out whatever's there in the fridge, but we'll most probably order some Chinese." Leo shrugged and locked himself in his bedroom. I went into the kitchen and went through his groceries. He had enough ingredients to make us pasta and found some garlic that wasn't spoilt along with a fresh slab of butter. I knew what our lunch was.

I had begun to chop vegetables when Leo came out of his room, dressed in a navy blue t-shirt that brought out his eyes and black shorts. "You found food in there?" He asked incredulously. I nodded and went back to cutting tomatoes. "Can I help?" Leo asked. "Actually, yes." I wiped my hands on a towel and got six pods of garlic. I need you to crush this for me and then mix it with butter." I said, handing the garlic to him. "I can manage that." Leo said seriously. I put the pasta to boil and watched as Leo pounded the garlic with ferocity. "I think you can mix that now." I said and helped him mix the garlic in the butter. Once the pasta was ready, we made the garlic bread- I toasted the bread while Leo spread the butter on it.

We took our lunch to the hall, where the TV was paused at the title of Rush Hour. "Oh my god, I love this movie!" I squealed as I sat down. I was about to have a bite of the pasta when Leo stopped me. "Stand up." He said. I kept my plate on the table in front of us and stood next to him. He placed his hands on my shoulders and spoke in a solemn voice. "Aria, you have taught me a new method of survival. You taught me how to make pasta, and I will forever be grateful for that. Thank you." This said, he pulled me into a tight hug and I almost melted. It felt so right, the way he held me, the way I fit into his arms. I was breathing in the scent of whatever manly shampoo he used when the doorbell rang, forcing us to part.

It was Trevor, telling us that the hall was done and that he was moving to the bedroom. Leo gave him his approval and returned to sofa, only to sit and play the movie. The pasta was amazing, even better than usual because I now had a memory attached to it- our first hug.