"What do you want to know? I'll tell you everything."
She didn't answer; couldn't. How could she answer a question like that? It had almost taken it out of her just to say that she wanted to know more about him, and now he expected her to say more?
He expected her to say to him—everything. Your favourite food, favourite colour, what haircut you had as a kid, if you were a Disney kid or a Nickelodeon kid, if you're a maths or an English person, cats or dogs?
She wanted to know every shade that there was to Leon Hughes.
She wanted to light the shadow of Leon in hues she never could have imagined.
But the idea of voicing those thoughts—her heart would probably stop beating.
"I want to know," Leon began to her surprise, "what you ate for breakfast."
"What?" Natalie sputtered through a laugh. That had been the last thing she expected. She met his gaze, and he grinned back at her, his eyes sparkling, and she immediately understood.
Natalie had always been bad at hiding her emotions. Her bitten bottom lip and terrible cuticles were a testament to that. Leon was good at easing her nervousness. He was the antithesis of Natalie. He always knew what to say, and when to say it. Natalie lived with a perpetual foot in her mouth.
"It's a very important question," he added. When Natalie's smile grew, so did his. "You can learn a lot about a person based on their breakfast choice."
"Really? What does a slice of banana bread tell you?"
"Toasted?"
"Of course."
"With or without tea?"
"With. English breakfast with honey."
"Pretty posh of you," he assessed. "I'd say you go to some fancy school like St Helena's or something, but I already knew that."
She giggled at that. "What, that's it? Not much to learn after all, huh?"
"It also tells me," he said, stepping closer, "that you like sweet things, but not too sweet. That you're patient, obviously. An early bird?"
Natalie nodded and his smile turned gentle.
"See? A very important question," he said.
"Well, what about you?"
"Me?"
"What did you eat for breakfast?" she asked.
He laughed. His face seemed suspicious for a moment, and she thought he might not tell her, but then he said in a calm voice, "Oats."
"Oats?" Natalie repeated incredulously.
"Yes, oats. What's wrong with oats?"
"Nothing. You just never really struck me as an oats person," she said.
"What does an oats person look like?"
"I don't know. Glasses. Greying hair. In a retirement home, probably."
"What! Oats are good for you!" he exclaimed, growing defensive.
Natalie shrugged.
He scoffed.
"Oats are full of fibre," he said matter-of-factly.
"You sound like an advertisement for oats," she said. "Does Uncle Toby's pay you for this?"
"They don't need to. It's just facts. Oats are considered a superfood, you know."
"Okay," Natalie said. "I believe you."
"Oh, you can't just call me an old man and then move on," Leon said. He laughed, grabbing her hand and tugging her towards him.
Natalie's breath caught in her throat at the sudden action. She felt the urge to freeze, but Leon only continued laughing, shaking her hand like he was throwing a tantrum.
"Take it back," he said.
"No, I spoke the truth!"
"Take it back!" he repeated, shaking her hand more vigorously.
She laughed. "Okay, fine, I take it back. Oats are very good for you and very fibrous. Does that make you happy?"
The shaking stopped, but he didn't let go of her hand. Instead, he smiled down at her, his voice soft when he said, "Very."
Her face felt hot. That stare she gave him—it was like he could read her thoughts. Which would be very bad if he could. Her face turned hotter. Very bad.
A part of her noticed they'd turned silent. Her fingers were still clutched in his and they stood only half a metre from each other. She thought back to the day they almost kissed. She wondered if he'd do it again. If their lips would brush like that night before. A tingle went through her body at the thought.
She hoped he would.
"What else do you want to know, Natalie?" he asked. His voice was tantalising, and that tingle turned to a full-body shiver. "I'll tell you anything."
Anything.
Her mind reeled. Her mouth was entirely too dry for this. If he kissed her, he would probably notice. She tried to swallow, tried to find some words, but everything was impossible except staring into Leon's eyes and clutching his hand like he'd disappear.
She opened her mouth, then closed it.
Where to begin?
She didn't have time to answer his question. Really, she wasn't sure what she would've said anyway. Her phone buzzed in her pocket and Leon released her fingers.
Her hand fell to her side, and she took half a step back, realising how sweaty her palm had been. Her cheeks flamed.
She pulled out her phone and frowned.
"My mum's finished her team meeting. She wants me to meet her at the car," Natalie said.
"Will I see you tomorrow?" Leon asked immediately.
Natalie paused. Leon Hughes, asking if he'd see her tomorrow? She had expected him to vanish, disappear until who knew when she'd see him again. But here he was. Asking to see her again.
She felt as though something had changed that day when she'd taken him back to her place. That faded line between them had become just slightly blurrier.
She couldn't pass up this opportunity, the chance to blur it even more, except... her dad was already on her case about studying, and he was right. She was in Year 12. She needed to be serious. She couldn't drop her entire future for a cute boy.
Her schedule ran through her mind. Study group on Friday. Biology assignment due on Thursday. Not to mention that UCAT seminar she'd registered for to prepare for her medical school admissions test. When was that again? She ran through the dates again and frowned.
"Tomorrow's not good," Natalie said. "I have a seminar."
"Thursday?" Leon asked.
She supposed she could do her assignment here. She shrugged, but before she could speak, Leon groaned.
"Wait, no, I have a match Thursday. Need to get there early. Friday? I could make Friday work."
Natalie shook her head. "I have a study group."
"So next week then," Leon muttered. His frown deepened. Was he disappointed? It made Natalie's heart sink. She touched his hand, a whisper of a touch, and he met her eyes.
"I'll see you next week, then," Natalie said.
Leon nodded. Then nodded again.
"Next week," he said.
"Good luck with your match," she told him.
"I'll definitely win," he said, his whole demeanour changing. He flipped her hand and took it into his, only to squeeze it for a second and let go. "Thanks, Good Luck Charm."
Natalie blushed. Before she could vanish into the memories from that night in the ring, she turned and sprinted through the back entrance, her face still hot and pulse still quick.
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When Natalie got home, showered, and changed, she found that she had four new follow requests waiting on Instagram.
She didn't use the app much, mostly to send Nyra stupid videos and keep up with her favourite celebrities. Her account was private, with only twelve followers in total—Nyra, some kids from her study group that attended different schools, and a few cousins here and there that didn't even live in the same state as her.
Really, she was amazed they had found her at all. There had to be a hundred Natalie Chens out there. Except, here were the four requests waiting for her to accept—Lucas, Alistair, Ron, and Leon.
A smile appeared on her face without her realising as she tapped onto Leon's profile.
There were no photos of him and, like her, he had minimal followers. His username didn't have his full name in it, so she supposed the fangirls hadn't found him yet, but that just made her more giddy.
Here was another part of Leon that she could have all to herself.
Instead, he had a photo of his motorbike, one of his boxing gloves, and one of that boxing ring leaderboard with his name at the top.
She hovered over each photo longer than needed, then went through every profile that had liked his photos. She smiled in satisfaction when she realised, they were all boxing-related accounts or his friends that she'd just met.
Curiosity got the better of her and she tapped on the other boys' profiles.
As expected of Sierra Grammar students, they all had well over a thousand followers each. Lucas' page was littered with shirtless selfies. Ron's was full of trips to Paris and Iceland and Beijing. Alistair's was all photos of his boyfriend, the captions all sickeningly cute despite being about their 3-week anniversary.
Natalie giggled to herself, switching back to Leon's profile when suddenly—
"NATALIE!"
She jumped, turning her phone off and staring wide-eyed at her closed, bedroom door.
Her father shouted from downstairs one more time.
"NATALIE!" He yelled. "Come down, please!"
She stood apprehensively. She'd never heard him angry like that before. Sure, he'd been disappointed, or stern, but angry? It was a side she barely saw.
Pocketing her phone, she raced downstairs, not wanting to keep him waiting longer.
Her dad looked like he'd just gotten home, while her mum stood stiff beside him. Dinner was laid out on the table, but neither of them seemed like they'd be sitting anytime soon. She frowned, slowing on the final steps.
"What's up?" she asked.
Her dad frowned, placing his hands on his hips. "Do you want to tell me?"
"Pardon?" She glanced at her mum who only pursed her lips at her, brow wrinkled in concern.
"Do you want to tell me what exactly is up?" her father repeated slowly.
Natalie sent him a look of confusion. "Not really? I mean, nothing's really up."
"Nothing?" he repeated.
"No, nothing."
"You've just been studying?"
She frowned, trying to figure out what this could be about. "Well, I was just on my phone for a bit upstairs..."
"Right. So, studying, going on your phone, and hanging out with delinquents. That should cover it, right?"
Natalie's heart sunk. Her dad stared at her, a heated look in his eyes. She almost winced at his tone—his accusation, and the underlying meaning.
He'd seen her.
"Nothing to say on that?" her dad asked. He shook his head, disappointment filling his eyes. "I don't understand, Natalie. I'm sitting in my office going through emails when suddenly Mike calls to tell me he saw you and Leon Hughes? Outside of Sierra Grammar?"
Mike, that little snitch.
Natalie knew him. He was her maths teacher two years ago, and good friends with her dad. Of course, if he saw her, he had to go calling her dad about it.
Her eyes burned. She thought she might cry. Of course, their secret couldn't last any longer. She'd used up all her luck, sneaking around behind her parents' backs. And now—what would her father say? What would he do? Ship her off to a nunnery, probably.
She had to do something.
"We just bumped into each other," Natalie said. "I don't even know him."
Her mother sighed, closing her eyes. Her father snapped.
"He said you were holding hands, Natalie," he said. "When did you become a liar?"
Natalie had always been a liar. With the way her dad freaked out about every little thing, she had to be. Really, it was his own fault.
She opened her mouth, frantically thinking of something to defend herself with—probably another lie—but her dad wasn't finished.
"Come on, Nat. Everyone knows about that Leon Hughes. Do you think we're stupid, just because we're teachers? Do you think we're blind? That kid always looks like he's been in a fight or something. He's in the wrong crowd. What the hell was going through your head?"
"Nothing!" Natalie's voice rose to the level of her dad's, and she stepped forward. "Nothing because there was nothing going on! I just bumped into the guy. I don't know him!"
"Yes, you do!"
"I don't!"
He scoffed, turning to her mother.
"Do you have anything to say about this?" he asked her.
Natalie met her mum's eye. She didn't look angry or disappointed like her dad. She looked tired. She rubbed a hand over her eyes and let out another sigh.
"Natalie, just tell the truth."
Her blood felt hot.
She swallowed back the words that threatened to escape her mouth—the lies and cover story for why she would possibly be standing with Leon Hughes outside of Sierra Grammar.
But honestly, she was tired too.
Why did she have to lie like this?
Hadn't she followed her parents' rules for almost eighteen years of her life? She never wanted to go to an all-girls school. She never wanted to stay home studying all night while the other girls in her class went out to the city. She never asked for a shelf full of classic novels or a dad that doubled as her school principal.
She was allowed to have one thing, wasn't she?
She snapped.
"You know what?" she began. "Fine. Leon is my—friend. We're friends. We've been friends for months now. And I'm not going to stop being his friend. I'm allowed to have male friends!"
The word friend tasted bitter in her mouth, but she didn't know how else to describe him. What did you call a boy who complimented you, who brushed fingers with you, who almost kissed you? A boy who walked you to school and said your name in that slow whisper, the way he always did?
The line between them was faded, but it was still there, and Natalie didn't know if she'd ever cross it.
This felt like a start.
"I don't care if you have a problem with Leon," Natalie continued. "But he's not who you think he is. He's not a some kind of, like, gang member. He's a good person."
"A good person? Aiyah! Natalie, use your brain!"
They were simple words. Meaningless, even. But for some reason, they stabbed through Natalie's chest.
She took a steadying breath. Her eyes felt watery, but she refused to look away from her parents.
"For once in my life, I am," she replied.
She turned then, having nothing more to say to them, and began storming back to the stairs. She'd go the night without dinner. She was too angry to eat anyway.
"This isn't the end of it!" her dad yelled as she walked. When she didn't stop to reply to him, he yelled again. "He's probably a drug dealer, huh! And then what? There's a reason he's always beat up, Natalie! Think about who he surrounds himself with!"
She continued ignoring him. She knew the reason anyway. Leon had told him herself, and she'd believe Leon over the rumours any day.
Nobody had bothered to look at Leon beneath his bruises and scars, but Natalie had managed it. And what she'd found was a kind boy, who valued school so much that he'd fight to keep going—literally. His scars were a symbol of his determination, not of anything criminal like her dad implied.
Well, Natalie thought to herself, thinking of the underground boxing ring he'd taken her to. Maybe a little criminal.
She reached her bedroom door and heard her father yell one last time, "You'll regret it!" before she pulled the door open and slammed it shut behind her, locking it.
She let her back hit the door and let out a heavy breath.
Her mind was whirring. Had all of that really just happened? Half of her regretted it, coming clean the way she did. She'd yelled at her dad. God. He'd probably disown her after that performance. That was, if she didn't wake up in the morning dead, or worse, packing for a nunnery in the bush.
She wouldn't put it past her dad to think of something like that and find a way to put it into action.
A gust of wind hit her heated face and she turned, frowning, to her window. She hadn't left it open when she went downstairs.
She moved forward, bracing her hands on the windowsill and glancing towards the street. She could have sworn she saw a bit of movement, some shadow against the roads.
Could it have been—no. She was on edge from the fight with her dad. She was imagining things. She was hoping for the impossible.
She stepped back and fell onto her bed, feeling the tension in her whole body hit the mattress.
In the distance, she could have sworn she heardthe sound of a motorbike, ripping down the street.
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AUTHOR'S NOTE
womp womp hehe I hope you liked this chapter! Sorry it's a bit late, this was my first week back uni! Crazy times BUT the Watty's are open and I really want to submit this story sooo hopefully I will have this story completed in 2-ish weeks' time? We'll see!
As always, let me know your thoughts and thank you so much for reading!