DEDICATED TO, nobody
LEO VALDEZ, enemies to lovers
IN WHICH, cherry garcia likes herself too much, and leo valdez hates her for that.
﹙IVY ★﹚
CHERRY GARCIA!
thought she was the funniest person in the world, among other things.
leo valdez thought her only impressive feat was that she had the worlds biggest ego. he hated every second he had to spend around her. how could one person be that out of touch with reality?
being a daughter of aphrodite was always stereotyped, and cherry fit the stereotype proudly. she didn't judge people for dressing up, or for not dressing up, regardless of what her personal opinions were.
though, this streak of kindness ended there. not only was she blessed with beauty, she had just a little bit of a short temper.
"can you move?" cherry's tone came out a little meaner than she was expecting.
leo was sitting in the spot under her favorite tree. everybody knew she sat there when she was sick of everybody else, and everybody knew that when she was angry, she only got worse from there.
"can you develop a personality?" leo replied, looking up from whatever he was tinkering with.
"oh, sassy!." cherry replied, her face staying in its cold expression.
leo remembered the first time he'd arrived at camp. at the sight of her, he'd gotten woozy. he couldn't even remember what stupid thing he'd said to her, but he was terrible at talking to girls, and she seemed to hate him, so it was probably something bad.
cherry was different than any other person person he'd encountered. he could decipher most people, but she was two-faced, which confused him.
"are you gonna leave?" cherry repeated, after not getting an answer.
"i was here first." leo spoke, his eyes boring into hers.
"fine." cherry spoke.
she plopped down right beside him, adjusting the way her hair fell in waves down her shoulders, because of course her only concern was how she looked at the moment.
leo studied her features, almost pricking himself with the screwdriver he was messing with. it was easy for him to to lose his focus when he was in the same room as her, but he'd never been this close for so long.
"what are you doing?" leo questioned, with a frown.
"i'm sitting down." cherry spoke slowly, as if he was the stupidest person she'd ever encountered.
leo rolled his eyes. he always seemed to forgot just how annoying she was when she was just out of reach.
like, at campfires, everybody would try to get a seat next to her. leo would scowl as he watched her reflection in the flames. the soft light would draw out every perfect feature on her face.
he hated how pretty she was. it made him forget his words sometimes, which wasn't good when they were arguing and she was calling him an idiot and he could say nothing to defend himself.
cherry pulled a book out of her tote bag. she opened it up, trying to find the spot she'd bookmarked the last time she sat under the tree.
"i didn't know you knew how to read." leo commented, a little smile playing against his features.
cherry looked up. "it's fine to be in love with me. you don't have to insult me to get my attention."
"i'm the farthest thing from that."
"everybody knows except you, you know that? you have the worst staring problem in the world. the aphrodite cabin has a poster of pictures of us on the wall."
"i wouldn't stare at you. you're an eyesore."
"you should probably stop being mean to me. i might kiss you."
"oh, i wish."
cherry rolled her eyes. she'd broken the heart of a kind boy when she was, like, maybe thirteen, proving that getting people to like her was easy enough. everybody liked her, and that's how it'd always been.
everybody except leo. he, for some weird reason, wanted nothing to do with her. maybe it was because her excessive use of perfume lingered in every space she entered, or that she never seemed to be in a good mood.
maybe it was because she called him stupid. maybe it was because she'd accidentally elbowed him in the face during archery practice, or that she'd embarrassed him one too many times in sword practice.
whatever! cherry wouldn't ever admit something she did was wrong. nothing was ever her fault.
leo tried to ignore the heat growing on his face. she wouldn't take her eyes off of him. it made him nervous.
for one merciful hour, they were both quiet. the sun began to set over the horizon, a bright orange and pink tint coating the sky. campers returned to their cabins.
a couple aphrodite campers giggled as they passed the pair.
"always nice to see people doing charity work, cher." a black haired girl grinned as she passed by.
"i love to help out." cherry grinned, waving to her sister.
leo was so horribly embarrassed. he wanted to bury his face in his hands and disappear. the boy sat up, collecting all of his tools, no longer willing to be embarrassed just to get a glimpse of her.
cherry yanked him back down, and he huffed.
"why can't you ever just leave me alone?" leo questioned, his eyes searching hers.
cherry let go of him he second he stopped speaking.
did he know that she was joking? she was most of the time, anyways. she never tried to really be mean to him, it was only when he made a stupid comment that she began to insult him, but she thought he knew it was a joke.
whatever. stupid leo valdez. who did he think he was?
anybody else would've been dying for the chance to sit next to her, yet here he was, trying to get away from her?
what was wrong with her? why didn't he like her? was it wrong for her to want to be liked?
"you are such a cunt." cherry huffed, and shoved her book away from herself.
leo ignored her. he did his best to focus on the materials in his hands, and not how close she was to him, or how even though she was being mean to him, he didn't like seeing her upset.
"back up. i need personal space." leo managed, not even moving to look.
"you smell good." cherry grinned, the amusement in her tone only serving to further anger him.
"cologne. maybe i can give you the name and you can recommend it to your next boyfriend."
"you can be my next boyfriend."
"no thanks."
"come on. i've actually been in love with you this whole time."
"you would kill me for a tube of lipgloss."
cherry rolled her eyes. he wasn't any fun. leo seemed more insulted and angered than usual.why did she find it so easy to bother him?
"i wonder what flavor that lipgloss is. maybe cherry? are you that narcissistic?" leo questioned, his voice condescending.
strawberry, leo realized.
cherry pressed her lips against his. he dropped whatever scraps of metal were in his hands.he didn't know why he didn't stop himself. he swore his hands weren't his own when they cupped her face and pulled her even closer.
the taste of her lipgloss seemed to intoxicate him. he hated the idea of her ever kissing anybody else. being with anybody else.
"you are.., horrible." leo spoke, after catching his breath.
"wasn't good enough for you? we can try again." cherry offered.
leo didn't hesitate to pull her in the moment she finished her sentence. he had no idea where his rush of was coming from, but he was glad he wasn't making a complete fool of himself around her for once.
"this doesn't seem like something you do with guys you hate." leo had never kissed a girl, but he assumed.
cherry made a face. he couldn't decipher the emotion expressed on her features.
"you're the stupidest person i've ever met." cherry broke into a fit of laughter. "i've been in love with you since you got to camp."
"insulting somebody nonstop doesn't seem like a very loving thing to do." leo thought out loud.
it was difficult to wrap his head around. she had a crush on him? she was in love with him?
before he could ramble absentmindedly and list every unkind thing she'd ever come to help, he decided to shut his mouth.
"do you think i could take you out on a date? one where you won't be mean to me the whole time?" leo spoke up, looking her in the eyes.
"yeah, i think i'd like that." cherry smiled.
"you think? you don't know for sure?"
"nevermind, i decline your offer."
"wait, no, i'm sorry!"
"i'm joking! when?"
"as soon as possible."
"tomorrow morning?"
"i'll see you tomorrow morning."
cherry got up off the ground. she snatched her book up, and then took leo's hand in hers. he grinned as she yanked him up.
she gave him a wave, before beginning her way to her cabin.
leo grabbed her shoulders, and spun her back to him. he pressed one last chaste kiss to her lips.
"sorry. that lip gloss looks good on you." leo couldn't stop himself from grinning. "goodnight."
"goodnight, leo." cherry smiled back.