ATTENTION: Some parts were missing the first time I posted the chapter. I've fixed the problem, and everything should be in order now!
This is the last part of this one shot. I'm so grateful for all your lovely comments. I really do appriciate them. I hope you enjoyed this little story, because I really loved writing it. Thank you for always supporting my stories. I love you guys!
I would be forever grateful if you checked out my other books as well!
✿ Violetta
Apparently Fran has an emergency at the park. She had called me all flustered and upset, asking me to come and meet her. I'd do anything for that girl, so of course I went right away.
I found it a bit odd that she wouldn't tell me what had happened, but I swiftly brushed it off. There are a million reasons as to why she didn't tell me. I need to stop being so paranoid, but can you really blame me with a father like mine.
The park is my favorite place in the whole world. Many of my best memories originated there, most of them with Leon. We always have a great time together. I know I can trust him, and trust is very important to me.
That's why I'm pretty confused when it's Leon I meet at the park, with no signs of Francesca anywhere.
However, the park doesn't look like it usually does. Leon and I's favorite bench is decorated with lanterns. I look down and there are flower petals everywhere. Leon is sitting on the bench, a bouquet of purple roses in hand. They're my favorite flowers. And they're extremely hard to get a hold of.
"What's all this?" I ask when the shock and confusion has died down a little bit. But only a little.
"Come sit, Vilu." Is all Leon says. I oblige and sit down next to him on the bench, making sure to leave some space between us. He's looking at me in a way I've never noticed before. I try to hold eye contact without blushing, but that's easier said than done.
"Firstly, I got Fran to get you out here, so don't be mad at her after this," He gave me a little smile before continuing whatever he was going to say, "I-I tried to tell you s-something at school today, but as usual something got in the way."
He isn't exactly mad, just really frustrated it seemed. To be fair, I have a tendency to get calls every time he wanted to tell me something important. It was never my intention, yet it still happened.
I couldn't help but smile a little bit when he mentioned Fran. He knows me very well, it's so like me to overreact over something like that.
The whole atmosphere changes the minute Leon takes a deep breath and takes my hand in his own. He looks so concentrated that it's almost on the verge of being scary; only his hazel eyes are filled with a hint of something else. Almost like a suggestion telling me to expect something more.
"I've tried to tell you this so many times, and I just can't take it anymore. I don't want to lose any more time to distractions and interruptions. I love you, Violetta. And not in a friendly way. Although I think we're great friends," He pauses. My hands are shaking lightly. He takes a firmer hold of the one in his hand, but not so much that it hurt.
When he continues, his voice has more confidence and he seems a lot less nervous, "I tried so hard not to feel this way, but I can't. Every time I look at you I feel my heart beat like a hummingbird flutters its wings. When I'm around you I instantly feel better, it's almost like I'm not whole when I'm without you. You have bewitched me, body and soul. Vilu, I swear, this is not just a stupid crush. I've felt this way for two years; from the moment I first laid eyes on you to be exact. And I know it sounds stupid, but I can't help it. You are the epitome of everything I've ever looked for in a human being. My heart belongs to you, it always has and it always will. I love you, Vilu. I truly do."
Leon finishes his speech; it's visibly difficult for him to profess everything, but as soon as the last words leave his mouth his whole body relaxes. A burden is definitely been lifted from his shoulders.
And thrown upon mine.
I'm stunned. My body is in complete and utter shock. Leon, my best friend in the whole world, just told me that he loves me. Not in some silly puppy love kind of way. No, he actually believes that he truly loves me. Me. Violetta.
I know he's expecting an answer except I'm not sure what to say. He takes something shiny out of his pocket and puts it in my hand. It's a beautiful necklace with my name etched into a silver-heart, and I absolutely adore it. Now I know for sure that he's serious about all of this. And he unquestionably wants an answer from me.
The only problem is that I can't give him any. My chest is hurting, while at the same time my eyes start watering. I'm freaking out. I can't handle this. I don't know what to do. To some extent I feel mind-blowingly cornered.
When I look at Leon's face I see hope across every feature. He wants me so badly. It's evident in his eyes.
How could I not notice that before today?
"I-I'm so sorry, Leon. I c-can't," I whisper, my head looking down in my lap as tears fall from my eyes, making my vision blurry.
I take a hold of his hand and place the gorgeous jewelry back where it belongs. And then- then I start to run.
✿
I run as fast as my legs can take me straight to Fran's house. The door is unlocked, so I don't bother to ring the doorbell and walk right in. Her family is used to me anyway.
I find Fran in her room, sitting on her bed playing a blue colored ukulele. Her surprised face indicates that she wasn't expecting to see me.
Oh boy was she in for a mouthful.
"Did you know?" My voice comes out strained, probably due to me crying all the way over here.
"Did I know what, Vilu? What's going on?" Fran asks concerned. From the moment we first met she's been a great friend to me, always caring about how I feel. That's why I hate being mad at her, because I know she cares about me and would never do anything to hurt me. Not intentionally.
"Did you, or did you not know, that Leon was going to confess his love for me when you ganged up with him?" The tears are falling from my eyes again. I don't know why my body is reacting this way. Well, that's not entirely true. To some level I understand why, but that doesn't explain the frantic feeling in my chest.
"Are you kidding me? That's great, Vilu!" Fran's mood shifts faster than Taylor Swift changes boyfriends. I didn't think that was even possible.
"GREAT?!" I shout, unfazed with the fact that her parents most certainly could hear me, "It's not great at all. It's terrible."
"I don't understand. I thought you loved him too?" Now confusion was the eminent look on Fran's face. Damn, that girl really changed emotions rapidly.
"I did - I do, it's just you know why I didn't tell him in the first place. I don't want to ruin what we already have. Our friendship means more to me than you can even fathom. If we get together and then break up, I lose him. I can't lose him, Fran. I can't," By the time I finish speaking my mind, I'm a complete mess; crying violently. At some point I must have sat down on the floor, because currently my body is sprawled out on Francesca's yellow rug. Sobs are escaping my mouth in a loud manner.
A pair of thin, warm arms wrap around me, so I quickly sit up leaning into them and breathe in the familiarity.
Fran is stroking her hand over my hair gently soothing me, whispering in my ear that everything is going to be okay. And after a while I start to believe her. How can I not? With Fran by my side I can do anything.
Maybe even tell Leon the truth?
✿
I end up spending the night on a mattress next to Fran's bed. For some reason my dad was okay with me staying over, even though it was a school night. I was pleasantly surprised. It feels good to know that my father trusts me.
Last night Fran and I discussed the Leon issue, and what options I have to fix it. I got a moment to step back and get a fresh look on the situation. The last thing I want to do is hurt Leon's feelings, but at the same time I need to figure out what I want.
Basically, it all comes down to whether I want to risk our friendship or not. And that's not an easy decision to make.
Regardless of what I'm feeling at the moment, I owe Leon an explanation. I did after all run away from him after he opened up and told me how he feels. I know better than anyone how hard that must have been.
That is why I'm currently looking for Leon at the Studio. I need to tell him why I reacted the way I did. It's not fair to keep him in the dark, unaware about the reason behind my actions.
I found him in the music room, playing his song from Pablo's class on the piano. The song was, if possible, even more emotional that way. I didn't want to interrupt the beauty of it all, so I stood by the door listening.
Yesterday, when I confronted him about if the song was written about me or not, he said no, but thinking back on it now I realize it was. Every single phrase in the lyrics made sense, because it is everything I have ever wanted to tell Leon myself. But I never found the courage or the words to do so.
He was halfway through the second verse when he noticed me, and he stopped abruptly. His gaze wavered down on the piano tangents, clearly trying to avoid me.
"Leon, I-"
"Don't worry about it, I understand. You don't like me and that's fine. I just can't be around you right now. Please give me some time to figure things out," Leon interrupts me and starts going towards the exit.
I get in front of him, putting my hand lightly on his chest to stop him from moving.
"I need to explain-" I started once again, but I didn't get far before he interrupts me. Again.
"You're actually going to embarrass me further by telling me why you don't want to be with me? We're friends I get it, but I need some time to get over you," This time I couldn't stop him from walking out, so I just watched him as his long legs put more and more distance between us.
All I want to do is sit down on the ground and start crying. Obviously I couldn't do that at school, so instead I went to the only place I've ever felt secure and at peace. The park.
A light summer breeze takes a hold of my skirt. I softly tug it down with my hand to prevent people from seeing my underwear. My style doesn't exactly have any advantages when it is windy. On the other hand I have mastered the act of discretely hiding the fact that my outfit is working against me.
I start to think about Leon's reaction at school. He seemed very angry at me, which is completely understandable. I must have made him feel like a complete idiot, when in all honesty I was the one acting like a fool.
I didn't handle the situation very well. All I could think about in that moment was our friendship, and the fact that if we became a couple there's no turning back. But now that didn't seem to matter at all, because all I want to do is to tell him that I love him too.
Since I left during school hours I expected to be alone at the park, but I'm surprised to learn that I'm not. It is completely deserted, except one person. Leon. He is sat on our bench, admiring the ocean.
I walk up to him and sit down. His face looks even angrier now than what he did the last time I talked to him. He immediately stands up, clearly ready to walk away from me, the same way he had earlier.
"Leon, wait! We need to talk," I stand up as well to go after him. This time I'm going to make him listen, even if he doesn't want to.
"We don't have anything to talk about, Violetta. Just leave it, alright?" His back is turned away from me, but I can still hear and feel the hurting in his voice.
I stop following him. He can be so irritatingly blindsided sometimes, but at the same time I like that about him. That he gets so passionate about something that he even snaps at the people he loves to defend it.
I take a deep breath and then I say it. The one thing I have wanted to tell him for the longest time.
"I love you!"
He stops dead in his tracks, still with his back facing me. It's almost as if his body froze in place. I stand motionless in anticipation, trying to predict his reaction. He still loves me, right?
Suddenly I start to feel sick. What if I'm too late? Maybe he got so angry at me that he lost all the love he felt for me? Every crazy scenario I can think of goes through my head at once. I need him to still love me.
"What did you say?" He turns around, studying my face. I can't comprehend his emotions by looking at him. But at the same time it doesn't matter at the moment, all that matters is to tell him everything.
"I love you. And I'm not saying it because I feel sorry for you. I'm saying it because that's what I feel, and I've felt like this for a long time," I try to get it all out at once, but my mouth starts to dry, making me stop and take a breath before continuing, "The reason I didn't tell you yesterday, or even before yesterday, is because I was scared. Our friendship is the single most important thing in my life, and the thought of losing you is terrifying. I'm sorry for running out on you last night, but I didn't know how to respond without throwing myself in your arms. I needed some time to think everything through. But the thing is, I don't care anymore. All I want is to be honest with you, and the truth is that I'm in love with you."
I don't know what to expect, but it feels so good to finally say the things I've wanted to tell him. All of a sudden his arms are around me, hugging me like a kid hugging a teddy bear.
"I-I can't believe this is happening," He whispers in my ears, still holding me tight. His cologne smells amazing; a sexy and subtle fresh scent that is neither overwhelming nor intrusive.
"Neither can I," I'm on the verge of tears. Not only have I told Leon how I feel, but he feels the same way. I can't remember feeling this happy.
After some time we let go of each other and our eyes meet, love evident in both of them. Naturally we lean towards each other. Everything has lead up to this moment. A moment that's clouded my dreams for a long, long time and now it's finally about to happen. I close my eyes, waiting for the sweet and soft impact of his lips.
Our lips press together lightly, and my whole body immediately starts to tingle. It's everything I've ever dreamed of and more. If you could see my eyes now, I'm sure you would see tiny little fireworks explode. Kissing someone you love is something so incredible that not even words can begin to describe it.
I'm in love with him. I love him. And nothing has every felt better to admit.
I lean away from the kiss and look at him again. I don't think I'll ever get tired of looking at him, he's just so handsome. My mouth can't stop turning up into a smile. Apparently neither can Leon's. Right now, everything seems to be the way it should be. Maybe we truly are meant to be together.
"So, we'll try being together then," Leon's face lit up in excitement as he uttered the sentence.
"We'll try," I said before leaning in and kiss him once more.
I can get used to the feeling of his lips on mine, as well as his arms around me. And the warmth of his body. The dimples that protrude when he smiles. Everything about him, really. For the first time in my life it sure felt like amor.