Steal the Stars [REWRITING]

Annabelle - I am the Master Meddler

"Can I talk to you for a minute, Annabelle?"

Leo's words are, honestly, surprising. Leo may be the member of the team I know the least-as odd as that sounds. But while James and I argue all the time, and I would consider Nicole my best friend, my interactions with Leo are almost always business-like.

Unless I'm teasing him about Nicole, of course.

And while we're friends, him asking to talk to me alone is weird. Very weird. And I don't know what to make of it.

He ran a hand through his hair. "I...I don't know how to say this."

"And I can't read your mind, unfortunately. Which would be really cool-just saying."

"Not helping."

"Sorry. I'm done now."

"It's just...I want...ugh, I can't even do this." He bounced his leg, the motion shaking the carriage slightly.

"Okay, well I can't help unless you tell me what it is."

"I know. It's...complicated."

I stared at him for a moment. He was bright red, the same neon shade he always got when someone brought up him and Nicole. Nicole. "You want to ask out Nicole, don't you?" I exclaimed, beaming. He got, if possible, redder. "You do! Finally. We've all been waiting forever, and I'm sure she likes you, too, so-"

"Annabelle. Stop. That's part of the problem. One minute, we're friends, the next, I swear she hates me."

"She doesn't. Trust me. She always goes sort of red when I mention it, too, so I'm sure she likes you, and, anyway, I just know. She's like that because she's Nicole."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"You know-she thinks the only way to protect herself and other people is to cut them off. She doesn't want anyone to care about her, because...actually, I don't know. But I'm not her. Anyway-"

Leo held up a hand to get me to stop. "How do you know this?"

"I don't really. I only kind of know."

"Kind of?"

"Yeah. But I'm right, so you don't need to worry about it."

"How can you be sure?"

"Leo, Leo, Leo. Have I ever been wrong about anything?"

"Yes."

I huffed. "Not like that! I mean about people. Don't be a James."

He paused to think about it for a moment. "Well, no. I guess you haven't, have you? Not generally."

"Exactly. And so why would I be wrong about the girl I've known for two years?"

"Well. You wouldn't. Probably."

"And so why are you doubting me?"

"I'm not, I just-"

"Right. So, what are you thinking?"

"I don't know. That's the problem."

"Well, she'd probably like it best if you were just honest with her," I said, shrugging slightly. "I mean, she'd never go for anything flashy, so don't. Please. If there's one bit of what I say you listen to, it's that. Don't try to be flashy. Don't try to be cool." I looked at him expectantly. "Got it?"

If he'd had a pen and pencil, he would have been taking notes. "I got it."

"Good. Just do it when you're alone, and, like I said: be honest. And don't be stupid. And don't be flashy. And you'll be fine." Maybe it wasn't the best advice, but I was right, anyway. I knew it. Nicole would thank me later, even if she was mad at me for meddling now. Not that I would tell her. And not that I was meddling; Leo had asked me. But she probably wouldn't like it, anyway. She had always been..touchy about the subject, ever since it had become apparent last year.

"Okay," Leo said. He was nodding, but still didn't look confident whatsoever. But that didn't matter too much; hopefully. Besides, Nicole already liked him, so asking her out couldn't really screw that up, could it? He would be fine.

"Well, then," I said, getting to my feet. "If we're done here, we should go in before they start to think we've been kidnapped or run off or something."

...

Twilight had fallen when we reached our final stopping point for the day, a town named Esuin that was far more populated than Enfield. Even at night, carriages rumbled over the streets and the chatter from a market could be heard down the road. It was pretty here, with tall buildings that reached for the sky, a purple-y cloak above them.

But who had time for that?

I lingered for a moment with Nicole, before half-dragging her into the inn. We had a schedule to keep (not really, actually). Leo and James booked two rooms, and passed one of the keycards to Nicole and I. "See you in the morning," Leo said, with a slight smile that was directed more at Nicole than me. "Get some rest. We have a big day tomorrow."

"Good night," Nicole said faintly. I couldn't tell if it was because of Leo (which further proved my point to him earlier), or because she was tired. She certainly looked like she hadn't slept in weeks.

Once the boys had disappeared up to their room (James half-dragging Leo and muttering, for who knows why except he was James) I performed the same treatment to Nicole, dragging her up the stairs. Our room was fairly plain, which I took to mean Leo had made the transaction, as James wouldn't know how to spend cautiously if it hit him in the face. I'd been like that, too, once, but I'd figured it out quickly enough. James hadn't.

He liked spending, draining his money into whatever came up first. Which was why he never had control of the money when we went on a job, particularly one like this, that required lots of travelling. It would be gone in a moment in his hands; which was why he was always on the hunt for more. Like a crow, looking for every shiny object.

"So," I said, smiling, as soon as Nicole put her bag down. "What do you think of Leo?"

"What about him?"

"Don't play dumb. You know what I mean."

"He's fine. He's Leo. We're friends."

"Friends."

"Annabelle..."

"What? You know I'm right. And if you two keep doing this, I swear I'll...well, I'll do something. Seriously, it's getting frustrating. Just admit you like each other and move on already!" I flopped on the unclaimed bed, spreading my arms out.

She laid down on her bed, arms crossed over her chest. "Just go to bed, Annabelle. It doesn't matter; we have more important things to worry about, anyway."

And we did. We had an impossible heist, a half-baked plan with so many holes it would be a miracle we made it out alive that we needed to finalise, and days of travel in front of us. I should have been thinking about all of these and more, but my conversation with Leo earlier had thrown that out the window.

Who cared about all that now? I was busy meddling in other people's lives.

Word Count: 1,158

A/N: I changed 'Liam' to 'Leo' at some point...maybe last chapter? Anyway, sorry for any confusion. I'll edit it all eventually.