The Guy I Once Knew

Lost in your eyes...

Author's note: Thank you so much @TinistaFromTheUk for suggesting piZap!

Later that evening, Violetta was sitting on the bed in her room in her new house, looking through her scrapbook. Just then, her phone beeped. A text from Leon showed up on the screen.

LEON: I'm so bored.

VILU: LOL so am I.

LEON: Hey, you've got your audition tomorrow right? Why don't I come over to yours so we can practice it one last time?

VILU: Sure, sounds great.

LEON: Ok, I'll be there in twenty.

Vilu put her phone on her nightstand, and spent a few minutes gazing off into space, thinking about Leon. Then she looked at the clock on the wall. “Shoot! I have to get dressed!” she said.

She walked into her closet and spent the next few minutes deciding what to wear. “Oh my god I have NOTHING pretty to wear!” she shouted. She frantically started pulling random pieces of clothing out and finally settled on a flowy floral top and dark skinny jeans. She looked at herself in the mirror and then realized something. “MAKEUP!”

She went into the bathroom to wash her face first. As she was rubbing soap onto her face, someone rang the doorbell. It can't possibly be Leon, she thought. It's way too early.

She heard the door open and someone walked in.

“LEON!” she heard her dad shout.

“MR. CASTILLO!” Leon shouted back.

Oh no, he's already here! Hopefully dad'll buy me some time. Violetta thought.

She quickly dried her face and got out of the bathroom. She did her makeup, brushed her hair, and ran down the stairs.

“Hey Leon!” said Violetta, standing on the last step and panting.

But the living room was empty. What? She thought.

She just stood there, her eyes darting from one corner of the room to another, searching for Leon.

She then heard a loud wail from the kitchen. She snapped out of her daze and sprinted towards the kitchen.

“WHAT HAPPENED?” she screamed. She then saw Olga, who was crying, holding Leon in an uncomfortably tight hug. His expression said Help me!

“Aaaah Leooooon, It's so nice to see you again! You've grown so tall, you're not my little boy anymore!” she sobbed.

“Aww Olga, I'll always be your little boy. That is, if you stop wetting my shirt with your...umm...tears of...love.” he said, looking at Violetta.

“Olga, let the boy breathe!” said Ramallo.

“Oh shut up!” said Olga, letting go of Leon.

“Vilu, you didn't tell me Leon went to the studio!” said German.

“Yeah, well, he does! C'mon Leon, we have a lot of work to do!” said Violetta, who was glad to see Leon.

“No, wait a minute. Olga, make some juice for him, please. How're your dad and mom? And the business? Where do you guys live now?” asked German.

“Mom and dad are doing fine and the business-” Leon said.

Violetta interrupted him. “Yeah, everything's fine, dad, never been better. LET'S GO. Daddy, can you please talk to him later?” she grabbed Leon's arm and pulled him out of the kitchen, into the living room and up the stairs into her bedroom and shut the door.

“Woah, relax Violetta. Your dad's not gonna swallow me whole.” said Leon.

“Well...I...Let's just get to work, shall we?” stammered Violetta.

Leon was looking at her weirdly. “What?” she asked him.”Nothing, miss defensive.” he said with a smirk. Violetta had a questioning look on her face, so he said, “Forget it, let's practice.”

“...Okay. Why is it so awkward?” asked Violetta.

“I don't know!” Leon laughed.

They started talking normally again, fooling around like they usually did. Somebody knocked on the door. “Come in!” Violetta said.

“Juice!” Olga chirped as she entered the room holding a tray with two glasses of orange juice on it.

“Thanks Olgie,” said Violetta as she took the tray from Olga, placed it on her desk and sat back down.

Olga just stood in the doorway, gaping at Violetta and Leon, grinning from ear to ear.

After about a minute, Leon got up from his chair, walked up to her and stood right in front of her. She was still staring. Then suddenly, he screamed “OLGAAA!” in her face. She was startled, and shrieked as she scuttled away.

Vilu and Leon burst out laughing. This laughter continued for about five minutes, and ended with them sprawled on the floor crying and clutching their stomachs. Finally, they composed themselves and Leon said, “We should probably start rehearsing.”

After going through the song twice, Violetta suggested that he sing along with her. He agreed and they began. Their voices matched perfectly and the blended melody was enchanting. They were looking at each other the whole time, and something happened. Vilu felt a sudden strong attraction towards him, but she didn't know if he felt the same.

Even after they were done singing, she was lost in his eyes. She was snapped out of her thoughts when Leon spoke. “I should probably get going. It's 7:00, and my mom's making Enchiladas tonight.”

“Yeah, yeah, it's okay.” she replied.

They went downstairs and Leon said goodbye to Ramallo, Olga and German.

They walked to the door. “Why don't I walk you home? You house isn't very far,” asked Violetta, wanting to spend more time with him.

“Yeah, sure, ask your dad,” he replied.

“Dad, is it okay if I walk Leon home?” she called.

“Okay, but don't be gone too long! And take your phone with you!” her father shouted from the kitchen.

They walked out the door and on to the street. Violetta suddenly felt a burst of cold air. She wasn't wearing a sweater as she walked alongside Leon, shivering. Obviously, being the gentleman he was, Leon took his jacket off and draped it over Violetta's shoulders. She could feel the warmth of his jacket. It smelled faintly of musk cologne.

They barely spoke. Then they finally reached Leon's house, when Violetta said, “Well, I'll see you tomorrow, then.”

“Yeah, good luck with the audition.” he replied.

He gave her a hug as he said, “I'll take the jacket back later. You'll need it for your walk back home.”

“Thanks. And thanks for everything else too.” she said.

He smiled at her. She was blushing, and she was glad it was dark, so he couldn't see.

He walked into his house and shut the door. Violetta turned around and started walking home, wrapping the jacket tighter around herself, smiling.