Natalie's entire body shuddered to a stop.
He kissed her and the room turned silent. It was like lightning had struck her and thunder boomed through her body, shaking all of her bones loose. Her pulse went soaring and every nerve in her body lit up. She was suddenly acutely aware of every brush of his skin against hers.
She felt like thunder, but the kiss was like a whisper.
His lips pressed against hers gently, the way he always treated her.
She thought for a moment that maybe he hadn't kissed her after all. That maybe his lips still hovered a centimetre from hers, like all those times before.
But they were there, on hers. She could taste him. She could feel that light pressure on her mouth and she thought briefly This is what a kiss is.
His touch drifted along her body, light as a feather, as if he was too scared to place any sort of pressure against her porcelain body. She was reminded of how she'd thought of him as a wraith all those weeks ago. A shadow.
That was how she'd describe it. Like kissing a shadow, with how gently he touched her.
She hadn't even realised her eyes fluttered shut until she felt him moving away, his lips leaving hers.
She looked at him, closer than he had ever been to her before. His golden eyes had darkened as he looked at her, his pupils blown wide and unable to focus as they moved from her eyes to her mouth and back again.
A shaky breath escaped his parted lips, fanning over her own ajar mouth.
"Sorry," he whispered. "I should have asked."
"No, you really shouldn't have," she said, and she kissed him again.
This time, she moved forward, pressing her lips hard against his this time, and the shadow took form. She felt his body under hers. She felt his skin, hot and real. And she felt his lips. His teeth.
Natalie had never kissed a boy before, not properly. It was kind of difficult, going to an all-girls school her entire life. Everything she knew, she had learned from movies and books and gossiping with Nyra.
There was the lingering fear that she was bad at this. That she was doing this wrong.
But then Leon's hand moved into her hair and pulled her closer, and all thoughts vanished from her mind.
She sighed into the kiss, her entire body relaxing against his.
And she was moving closer, and closer, until she was pushing him back. She felt herself move off the bed and onto the floor between his knees, anything to get closer, closer, closer. She wanted to feel him all around him.
He must have been thinking the same thing. His other arm snaked around her back, pulling her into him until her hands slid up his chest and circled behind his neck.
She felt his tongue press against her mouth and without even thinking, her lips opened.
When they finally separated, she was breathing heavily, kneeling on the floor between his legs. He leaned back, using one elbow to prop himself up as she practically climbed on top of him.
She blushed, moving back.
Leon seemed to move with her, as if he were magnetically attracted to her. As she sat upright, so did he, his hand never leaving her as it slid down to rest at her waist.
"I'm sorry for what I said," she blurted.
Leon blinked, his eyes still dark and distracted, moving from her lips to her eyes and back again.
"I shouldn't have said it," she added, her voice quiet. "I didn't mean any of it."
"Any of what?" Leon asked dazedly.
"It wasn't your fault," she said. She looked away, too embarrassed to meet his eye. "I had a fight with my dad, and I was angry. I wanted to blame someone, and I took it out on you."
"Natalie," he whispered, taking her face into his hands. "It's okay."
He kissed her, so lightly, and looked into her eyes.
"I don't even remember it," he said. He kissed her again. "Really."
"Leon," Natalie whined, pulling back as he tried to capture her lips once more. He moved with her, only pausing as she spoke again. "It's my fault. All of it. I think I really messed things up."
He frowned as he moved back, his skin leaving hers. He released a long breath, ran a hand over his face, and then looked at Natalie with a newly sobered expression.
"I'm listening," he said. His eyes stayed on hers, like he was using all his effort to pay attention. "I'm trying really hard not to kiss you again."
She laughed a little, but then her eyes welled up with tears and she looked away, releasing a frustrated groan.
"I'm so stupid," she said. "Everything I said—You never asked me to lie to my parents. That was all me. Just like how my grades were all me and Veronica was all me—"
"Wait, Natalie—"
"No, Leon," she said, holding up a hand to stop him from speaking. "I really am sorry. I shouldn't have yelled at you like that. If I had never met you—" her voice caught. She didn't want to imagine a world where she never met Leon. She shook her head. "What I'm trying to say is, you helped me realise that I don't want to do medicine anymore. And if it wasn't you, it would've been something else. Maybe a year down the track, maybe five, but I would've come to the same realisation."
"Natalie—"
"And if my parents don't agree with my decision, then it doesn't matter. It's my choice in the end, right?"
"Of course, but Natalie," Leon said quickly, taking her hand into his, "I don't get it. What happened with Veronica?"
Natalie's face turned hot—with anger or embarrassment, she wasn't sure. She didn't want to think about Veronica. Not now. Not with Leon this close to her. She didn't want him to think of her either.
But she knew she had to talk about it. She was the one who had yelled in his face about her anyway.
"I know that you and Veronica were a thing," she confessed.
Leon blinked. "What?"
"I overheard her that day when you were fighting Tyler outside my school. She said your exact words." Her face turned hot as she forced the words out. "You know, about your secret technique or whatever."
She watched as his brow furrowed, eyes narrowing for a moment.
"But it's okay," she added quickly. "I mean, it hurt a little at the time. I guess I felt... special. Or whatever. But it's not like we're in a relationship or anything."
"Natalie," Leon said, his eyes snapping up to hers at her words. He clasped another hand around hers so that both his hands were holding on. "I haven't spoken to Veronica in months. I didn't even know she knew about me boxing."
Natalie processed his words for a moment. She stared at him, searching his eyes. "What are you saying?"
"I'm saying I never told her about my fighting strategy. I guess she would know my dad used to work at the Golden Ring, but..." he trailed off. Suddenly, his eyes widened. "Natalie, do you remember that night?"
"What night?"
"The night I taught you my fighting technique. In the boxing ring. Remember?"
Her pulse quickened. How could she forget?
"I mean, kind of," she said, trying to play it cool.
"We heard a noise," he said slowly. "Like a door slamming."
Natalie's eyes widened too now. "Are you saying—"
"That Veronica could have snuck in and overheard?" he asked, echoing her thoughts. "Yes. It could be a stretch, but—"
"I wouldn't put it past her," Natalie muttered.
Leon huffed, standing and reaching for his phone in his pocket. "I'm going to call her."
"What?" Natalie jumped onto her feet and grabbed his wrist. "No!"
"I need to know if it's true," he said. "And I need to stop her from ever pulling shit like this again."
"Leon, please," she said, frowning. Veronica wasn't easily dissuaded, and Natalie had enough problems as it was.
He hesitated, his phone lying still in his hand.
"She hurt you, Natalie," he said. "She could have hurt what we have between us."
"I know," Natalie said. His gaze didn't stray from hers and she released a silent breath. "I know, but not now. Please? Tomorrow, or next week, but not now. I just—I don't want to think about her."
Slowly, he nodded, pocketing his phone again. He reached up, running his fingers through her hair. She shivered at the motion and wanted him to do it again and again and again.
"I'll wait," he said. "But we have to do it sometime. She can't think she can just get away with things like that."
Natalie nodded. "We will. I promise."
He smiled and she thought he might kiss her again but instead he just looked at her, his fingers in her hair.
"So," Natalie began, smiling shyly, "when you said what we have between us..."
"Yes?"
She pursed her lips. Was she really going to have to say it?
"What exactly is it?" she said, unsure how to even word it. "You know. This thing. Between us."
"What do you want it to be?" he asked.
"What do you want it to be?"
"No fair, I asked first."
"Well, I confessed first, so..."
"Natalie," he said, laughing. He stroked her hair once more and leaned in closer. "I want you to be my girl."
Her heart did a big thump in her chest. She thought it stopped beating for a second, but then there it was, pounding madly against her ribcage.
His girl.
"Like your girlfriend?" she asked stupidly. She wanted to be sure.
He nodded. "Girlfriend. If that's what you want too."
"Of course, it is," she said. Her voice had gone so quiet. Her face felt like it was on fire, but she forced the words out anyway. "Will you ask me?"
"Ask you what?"
"You know..." She may have been able to get some words out, but she wasn't sure she'd manage the rest.
He blinked, then a smile grew on his lips.
"Natalie Chen," he began, "will you please be my girlfriend?"
"Oh, I don't know..."
"Natalie!"
"Yes, you big idiot!" she exclaimed, throwing herself at him. She smashed her lips against his. Now that she'd kissed him once, she couldn't stop.
And Leon didn't protest. He scooped her into his arms and kissed her back, quickly, and then slowly and then quickly again. Lips and then tongue and then teeth against her bottom lip.
He moved forward, pushing her back against her bed until she was falling backwards, and he was on top of her.
Natalie's heart fluttered, but she didn't stop. She didn't want to stop. She wanted to feel the pressure of his body on top of his. She wanted to feel his hair between her fingers. She wanted to hold his hand.
Her fingers paused over the back of his hand, and she frowned.
Leon pulled away, feeling her pause, and looked down at her.
"What is it?" he asked breathlessly. "Did I do something?"
She pulled his hand off of her cheek and looked down at his wrist—down at the hair tie on his wrist with a little red heart in the middle.
"Is this my hair tie that I lost?" she asked.
Leon followed her gaze, then chuckled. He stood and she mourned the loss of his body against hers, but she sat up anyway, eyes glued to his wrist.
"Yeah." He pulled the hair tie from his wrist and held it between his fingers. "I found it."
"You found it?" she repeated in disbelief. "How? Why? What..."
He laughed again, reaching forward to push her hair back.
"Turn around," he said, and she obeyed. He began combing her hair through his fingers into a neat ponytail at the back of her head. "I saw how much you liked it, so I went back before Lance closed up. Took me hours to find. It was wedged between the chair and the wall."
She imagined him on his hands and knees, searching the Golden Ring for something as insignificant as a hair tie. All because of an offhand comment Natalie had made. Her chest swelled at the image.
"Leon," she said, still struggling to believe his words. "You really did that for me?"
"Of course," he replied. He gave her ponytail one final tug and released it. She turned, wanting to see his face as he spoke. "I would do anything for you, Natalie."
"Even fight Tyler?" she teased, remembering that day in front of her school.
"Even that," he said, smiling. She leaned up, watching with satisfaction as his eyes flickered down to her lips.
"Even walk me home after school?"
"Always that."
"Even show me a photo of you wearing that unicorn headband as a kid?"
"You remember that?" Leon sputtered, eyes growing wide. She giggled at the red blossoming against his neck. "I'm going to kill Ron."
Natalie leaned up and pressed a quick kiss to his lips.
"I love kissing you," she said, smiling through a yawn. "I think I spent all my energy crying and yelling at you."
His expression softened at her words, and he moved onto the mattress, pulling her down with him. They lied on their sides, facing each other. Leon reached forward, stroking the side of her face.
"Have a nap," he said, his voice as gentle as his touch. "I'll wake you up when your parents get home."
"What are you gonna do, watch me sleep?"
"Maybe."
She smiled, unable to find the energy to laugh. She watched his face, not wanting to shut her eyes and lose even a second of his presence, but eventually her eyes grew droopy.
She shut them but let her hand curl around Leon's.
"Leon," she muttered.
"Yes?"
"I don't want to see my parents."
He was silent for a moment.
"You should make up with them," Leon said. "Talk it out."
She thought his words over for a moment. Her gut reaction was to refuse. She didn't want to see them. She was sick of arguing with them.
But then a thought hit her. Leon had lost his dad at such a young age, and here she was with two parents, taking them for granted. She swallowed hard.
"I'm scared," she whispered.
"I know," he replied, giving her fingers a squeeze. "Have a nap. It'll seem better tomorrow. Trust me."
She fell asleep then, the rock in her stomach dissolving a little with his words. Because she did trust him. She really, really did.
She had let him in, all those days ago, and nowshe had a feeling that for once, he wouldn't leave again.
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AUTHOR'S NOTE
Finally the reveal! I think most of you guessed that Veronica was the noise in that chapter--I really thought I was being sneaky with that LOL I hope you liked this chapter! I'm planning on uploading the last 5 chapters over the next 2 days so stay tuned! <3