𝐂𝐇𝐄𝐂𝐊𝐌𝐀𝐓𝐄- 𝐋𝐄𝐎𝐍𝐀 𝐗 𝐑𝐄𝐀𝐃𝐄𝐑

DESPITE EVERYTHING

If silly equals adorable, then he calling me silly equals he calling me ador-

No no no! You stopped yourself from thinking further. This lion had made you blush like an idiot a thousand times today, and you're not going to let him succeed this time.

"I don't understand what you're talking about." you claimed, trying to pretend that you didn't care about that.

Leona knew exactly what you were thinking from your reaction.

"Ah? You don't get that, do you?" he asked with a fake sigh, "Well then, I guess I can only say that in a more direct way." He then all of a sudden bent down a bit to reach your eye level.

"You look adorable in that photo." was all he uttered before he fastened his pace, leaving you behind.

Dammit, Leona Kingscholar. You won.

"What's wrong with you today, Leona? Got drunk or something?" You cleared your throat and questioned, continuing to pretend that you didn't get shy because of that.

Leona let out a small laugh, "I assure you my mind is so clear that I am not drunk at all."

You two continued walking until you reached the island's beach, where the crew had been filming in the daytime. Different from afternoons or dusk, the beach at night was decorated with the stars in the sky. It was probably one of the best spots on the island for watching the stars. Along with the sound of waves, the whole scenery was picturesque.

The two of you sat down on the warm sand to take a rest and enjoy some stargazing. The moonlight tonight was not too bright, making the stars even more sparkling.

"Let me check your ankle." Leona suddenly uttered after sitting down next to you.

You halted for a second and turned to him with noticeable surprise in your eyes. "Why...?" you hesitated while looking away.

"You've been walking difficultly since we left the kiosk." Leona said and moved his eyes to your heels, "New shoes?"

You sighed as you realized that it was impossible to hide that from Leona. You took off the beige heel on your right foot, showing the reddened back of your ankle.

"Put it here." he patted his lap as he changed his position from sitting to crouching with a knee on the sand. You hesitated for a second, but Leona had already placed your foot gently and carefully on his lap, so as not to cause pain to it.

"It's almost bleeding." Leona told you when he saw the part of your ankle being rubbed against the lining of the heel. The skin there was badly scratched. "Should've told me earlier. Why're you still wearing it when it's uncomfortable?"

You smiled a bit awkwardly, "They look nice, and I haven't tried them on. So I think it's a good chance for me to wear them..."

Leona let out another sigh as he put your foot down and stood up from the ground. "Wait here." he uttered.

"Where are you going?" you asked, trying to stand up from the ground, but was stopped by him.

"Buy you some bandage tapes. I saw a convenience store near the restaurant, but it's quite far away from here. Don't move around and hurt your ankle." he reminded while taking off his black jacket and putting it on your shoulders, "Here, put it on, or you'll get cold." he then ran towards the street where you two came from without waiting for you to react.

"Wait, Leona-!" You were not even able to stop him from doing so. You did not want to trouble him, but he had already run away to the store, so you turned back to sea and wrapped your arms around your folded legs, listening to the peaceful wave sound while feeling the soft shore breeze on your face. You slightly pulled Leona's jacket on your shoulders to prevent it from falling. It was warm, and its light fragrant scent once again made your heart pump faster.