Delicate

Chapter Twenty Two

"If Leo gets punished despite the several witnesses attesting that he was the victim and did not initiate the fight, then I'm afraid that I'm going to have to make some calls regarding the administration of this school," Roan stated, his voice calm yet deadly.

"Are you threatening me, Mr. MacElroy?" Mr. Collins narrowed his eyes slightly as he looked at the blond man.

"If by that you mean am I going to sue the school for punishing my son for standing up for himself when he was getting beaten up by three boys, then yes, I'm openly doing so," Roan stated, "it's on you whether you want to see me in the next parent teacher conference, or the courtroom."

"I do not take these threats lightly—"

"If you consider exposure of the truth as a threat, then that speaks volumes about you, not me," Roan replied as he leaned back on his chair.

"Very well," Principal Collins sighed, "I suppose I see your point that Leo didn't have a choice but to defend himself. He's not suspended."

"Amazing," Roan said as he stood up from the chair, "I'm going to take him out of school for the rest of the day, I hope that's fine?"

"Feel free," Mr. Collins muttered.

Roan and Leo wordlessly walked out of the Principal's office. There were a few students in the hallway, considering it was the lunch hour. Most of them gave the two weird looks, but they ignored as they exited the school and got into Roan's car.

"I'll drop you to school tomorrow morning, if you're feeling up for it. You can get your car then," Roan said, and Leo nodded.

Leo was still speechless. The only thing that kept playing in his head on repeat was Roan calling him 'his son'. Sure, he had done it before. But seeing the way the older man was defending him, standing up for him, and then addressing him as he did... He was doing exactly what a father should do.

It was no secret that Leo had been struggling for years to think of Kai and Roan as his parents. It was easy for Maya, she was young and she never knew their biological father.

But Leo had a dad. He had someone that picked him up from school and played catch with him, who did all the stereotypical things that a father should. Leo loved his dad, and his absence was something he still hadn't completely coped with.

Leo didn't know if it was the aftermath of the fight and the very eventful day that was making him feel emotional— but for the first time in his life since he lost his dad; he felt like he had family. That he was someone's family. Someone other than Maya.

"Are you mad? At me?" Leo asked when he noticed that Roan wasn't saying anything.

"Why would I be mad at you?" Roan questioned back as he maintained his eye on the road.

"For getting in a fight? Almost getting suspended again?" Leo pointed out.

"You were standing up against bullies. You didn't throw the first punch, though if Nick was anything like his mom, I wouldn't have blamed you had you even started it," Roan attempted to joke.

"Still..." Leo trailed off. Roan sighed as he glanced at Leo for a moment.

"If anything, I'm proud of you. I know I shouldn't that considering violence was involved, but you were only defending Quinn and yourself. You stood up for someone else. You didn't remain a bystander, and for that— I'm proud of you," Roan stated sincerely.

"Thank you," Leo muttered.

"Besides I'd be a hypocrite if I got mad at you for this," Roan said, "did I ever tell you what happened when I was in sophomore year?"

"No," Leo shook his head.

"This idiot senior thought it would be a good idea to pick on me for having two moms," Roan scoffed, "I do easily lose my calm but... That day was something else."

"He had it coming," Leo replied.

"Oh, yeah," Roan said, "I need to let Kai know what happened."

"He's going to be so mad at you for threatening to sue Principal Collins," Leo said with a teasing smirk.

"Nah, he hates the old guy's guts. He'd be mad that I didn't record it," Roan replied, making Leo chuckle.

"I should text Milan and let him know," Leo muttered to himself.

"Milan seems like a good kid," Roan said, "are you both..."

"Kind of," Leo shrugged.

"Well, if you need any help or if you have any questions then you can always come to me and—"

"Oh my god," Leo groaned, "I'm nineteen, please, I don't need the birds and the bees talk."

"But—"

"I have internet, okay?" Leo looked out the window, feeling embarassed.

"I'm just saying," Roan muttered, but didn't push it further.

The two drove over to the hospital, despite Leo attempting to reassure Roan over and over again that he was fine. But Roan wanted to be sure, so Leo had no choice but to suck it up and agree. He ended up getting a few stitches and some painkillers for the pain, and soon enough they were heading back out to the parking lot again.

Before they could get in the car, Leo grabbed Roan's arm to stop the man. Roan turned around to look at him, raising an eye brow in question.

"Thank you. For everything."

"It's just what you do for your family."

***

I, of course, had to write atleast one chapter of Roan talking like a complete badass. duh.

I wanted to talk a little about the book. I named it 'delicate' to symbolise both Leo and Milan's idea of family and their relationship with each other and their parents. they're both fragile in their own ways. I usually don't like writing characters with tragic back stories and what not, but I felt it was needed for this book. I wanted to write about their growth, not only in terms of how they come together, but how they unknowingly influence the other to work on their complicated home lives. nobody can fix you, but they can be there to support you and guide you while you do the fixing yourself. and that's the meaning of this book.

alright, rant over!