Piper ~ H.S

~Eighteen~

To me, that suggests she might be holding back on something – as if there was another story or two that she was keeping to herself...stories she didn't know how to tell me...or perhaps, maybe even didn't want to tell me. And if there was...I'm not that surprised she hasn't told me. I really don't blame her for not spilling everything out on me at once – in fact, that's actually another thing I admire in her – how she's careful and doesn't trust anyone new wholeheartedly straight away. But I didn't want her to hold back on me. I wanted her to trust me enough to tell me what she's been through. If she's been hurt by anything, or anyone else – I wanted to know – because I want her to know that I'm there for her when she needs me.

Why I wanted to be her shoulder to cry on so much, I wasn't exactly sure yet. It's just that...even way back to our second meeting – when I first saw her on the verge of tears after she found out Piper had accidentally eaten peanuts – I've always just felt this urge to take her in my arms and hug her tight whenever I saw that she was upset. I hated seeing Leah upset – and when I do, I almost want to stop at nothing until I can see that sweet smile on her face again.

But, anyway...I have to let Leah take baby steps into fully trusting me. I don't want to rush or force her. I know she'd be hesitant in trusting men due to her history with them...but I want her to see that I'm different. I don't want to hurt her like Heath did. I would never do that. I don't even see how anyone could do that to Leah. Heath was lucky to have held her heart...and I can't believe he just went and broke it like he did. It's no wonder she's been put off guys for so long.

But I hope I can change that. I really hope I can.

Because I don't think I want our relationship to stop at 'just friends'.

***

~Leah~

"I feel so bad right now, Ash."

"Why, Lee?" Ashley asked me.

"Well, with how often you're having to babysit Piper lately," I replied, "I'm going out a lot more, and you're here, left with a toddler that isn't even yours."

"Girl!" Ashley laughed, "It's fine! I love looking after Piper, and I'm happy for you. After four years of fully dedicating yourself to nothing else except your baby girl, you deserve all these breaks. Especially to hang out with a guy like Harry," she smiled at me and turned my necklace around since the clasp had moved to the front, "I can see how happy you are when you're with Harry. And that makes me happy. It's about time a good guy came into your life, babe."

I smiled at her. "Thanks, Ash. You're amazing." 

"I know," she chuckled, "don't worry about me & Piper, OK? We'll be just fine. And besides – Piper will be ecstatic to hear you're going out with Harry again."

"We're not going out," I rolled my eyes, "we're hanging out."

"Honestly, what's the difference, Leah?" She asked with a giggle, "Now go on and finish up your makeup and stuff. Harry's gonna be here soon. You wanna look pretty for him, don't you?"

I rolled my eyes at her again, and she flashed me a bright grin before she left the room – leaving me to twist my hair up in a messy bun before I decided to smear on a bit of lip gloss.

It felt like an eternity before Saturday finally rolled by. And when I woke up this morning and realized what day it was, the hugest smile just spread across my face like fire. I couldn't wait to see Harry again. I was so excited for our time together...and all morning, I've been wondering what we'd do, where else we'd go and what we would talk about. I really hope this day won't go by too fast...because I loved being in his company. I was always so comfortable and at ease around him...and I felt as if I could talk to him about absolutely anything. I honestly don't think I've ever enjoyed being around a guy so much.