ONE WEEK LATER Leon felt sick.
Sick to the stomach.
Leon had never liked seeing public displays of affection -PDA if you must-. Even when he was in a relationship, he liked to keep it low key. He felt like it was almost gloating.
Francesca and Caio were not together -because Leon and Francesca were still dating as far as the press was concerned- but that didn't mean they weren't getting close. A little too close for Leon's liking. Because it was going to ruin the entire scheme they had—that's what he told himself.
Two days ago when they went out on a date -this time they went to a diner, and didn't sneak off- all Francesca talked about was how fucking amazing Caio was. Leon wouldn't be lying if he told you he tasted bile in his mouth. But he kept it to himself, and nodded, trying to look like he genuinely interested.
Perhaps he would've told her that he thought that she should shut up, and then he would dramatically storm out of the place. But the paparazzi was everywhere, which is even why he forced himself to take her hand and intertwine their fingers. They didn't kiss.
Leon wasn't even sure if that what was he really wanted.
But, he also wasn't sure if it was what he didn't want.
Which is why he avoided Francesca as much as possible that week, talking to only Diego and Pablo. But it was hard to even speak to Diego when the breaking news was that there may be a new star on the rise.
Take a guess.
Marco Fucking Tavelli.
So Diego was practically crumbling, and Pablo could only help him so much. In other words, Leon was starting to feel a little lonely. He missed having Francesca to argue with, Francesca had admittedly kept him busy for the past few weeks. Arguing with her had become a routine.
That day, Leon was sitting on his chair, and was sipping his water from a straw. He watched as Caio and Francesca talked. Francesca would occasionally put on a hat and pose, or maybe use a scarf. Leon wanted to run over and tell her stop this, and at least try to make it seem like she wasn't cheating on him.
But it was just another thing that he kept to himself.
"Leon, we need you and Caio to shoot a scene," Antonio says, and Leon nods wordlessly.
Leon got up, but he was pulled back by the wrist. Diego murmurs a good luck, and drops his wrist. Leon smiles gratefully. He was already dressed, he had just been lounging around considering Antonio had been focusing on Violetta and Caio scenes recently.
He was feeling the love.
"Hey Leon," Francesca stops him.
"What?" Leon asks. Francesca rubbed her hands together nervously.
"Are you avoiding me?" Francesca asks, her head tilting the side.
"Well you seem to be spending so much time with your boyfriend I think you're avoiding me," Leon replies harshly, but Francesca doesn't flinch.
"My boyf...Caio?" She asks softly. "You know you're my boyfriend," She tries to joke, but realises Leon wasn't going to laugh anytime soon. She bites her lip awkwardly.
"Leon, you can talk to me. I thought we were friends," Francesca says.
You thought wrong.
Leon didn't say it. He knew deep down that they were friends, a sort of friends that were dating but they weren't. Leon didn't reply, he didn't know how to reply. He brushed past her, and walked to Caio. Caio had obviously been watching them -the inquisitive doofus-
"Are you and Francesca alright?" Caio asks, and Leon rolls his eyes.
"Why? Do you want to see if you can move in on her. Too bad, Francesca and I are perfectly fine, so keep it in your pants," Leon hisses, and Caio takes a step back.
"I wasn't trying to intrude," Caio apologises.
Sure you weren't. You're just a naturally curious person topped off with being beyond irritating.
"And action!" Antonio yells.
Leon knew he did terribly. Antonio confirmed it when he yelled cut for the umpteenth time. Antonio groaned loudly, before running over to them. His white hair was messy, and fell over his eyes. He brushed it away with annoyance.
"Leon, is there a problem?" Antonio asks, his voice hard as steel.
He needed to tread carefully. Antonio was one of the nicest people that Leon had ever met, he was always willing to help no matter the cost or effort. He would help anybody, it was in his nature. But that didn't mean Antonio didn't have a dark side. And when that dark side came out, you would wish you could just run away, or hide in a ball where he could never find you. Yes, Antonio could be that scary.
"I'm sorry," Leon eventually said.
Then he cursed under his breath. Antonio hated when people said sorry, to him you never ever really meant it. Sorry was just a word used when you did something bad, and you hoped they would look past it so you could do it again. And the cycle would continue. It was an empty word, at least to Antonio.
"I think you can have the rest of the day off. You and Francesca can relax," Antonio replies.
Leon nods, rushing past Antonio. He grabbed Francesca who in the middle of the conversation with Ludmila. Francesca rolled her eyes, trying to push hair out of her face. Leon was running too fast, too fast for her to ask her what happened, and too fast for her to ask him if he was alright.
Oh, and too fast to ask him if he was out of his damn mind.
"We're going home," Leon informed her.
"So you avoid me, and now you're dragging me home with you. Sometimes I wonder if you're on drugs," Francesca shakes her head.
He dropped her hand quickly, her hand slapping her side. Leon felt like his hand was burning when he was touching her. A desirable but also infuriating burn. He glanced at his hands, which were perfectly fine. He was hallucinating he decided.
The drive home was silent, and Leon could tell that Francesca itching to question him. Her feet shuffled, and she fidgeted with her fingers in her lap. And not to mention the glances she threw at him every few seconds. It was like she was worried, nervous almost. If only she could feel how nervous he was.
Leon entered the house in a second, and walked to his room in long strides. He was ready to close the door when a purple converse stopped the door. Leon sighed, and opened the door, knowing there was no use trying to keep her out—it would probably only end up with him hurting her. Which wasn't on his bucket list.
"Talk to me," Francesca demands, entering the room.
She closes the door behind her. Leon shrugged, shoving his hands in his pockets. Francesca narrowed her eyes, her hands on her hips.
"You have been avoiding me! And I may have been nice earlier, but now I'm just irritated. What is your problem? Why can't you explain to me what's going on?" Francesca shouts.
"Because I don't know what's going on!" Leon yelled, throwing his hands up. Francesca was taken aback, but she held her ground nevertheless.
"Enlighten me,"
"I don't know what I'm feeling. I don't know what this—" he gestures to the both of them, "—is anymore. I'm not sure if I want to find out, but I know I don't want to keep it in the dark," Leon admits.
"I don't get it. Try and explain," Francesca urged.
"Do I have to use words?" Leon asked softly.
"Well use whatever you want." Francesca said confused.
In a swift movement Leon grabbed her waist, and pulled her towards him, into his chest. His breath fanned her face.
"I'll use actions,"
He pressed his lips to hers. This kiss was different, it wasn't like the one they had at the set. This meant something to the both of him. His fingers tightened their grip on the fabric of her shirt, and he was surprised when she kissed back. Really kissed him back.
This is when he knew that he probably ruined everything.
But when she deepened the kiss the thought vanished.
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Hey! So this is their first real kiss, and I'm quite happy with it. The next chapter will finally dig deeper in Leon's past. I hope you enjoyed this chapter because I sure as hell enjoyed writing it.
And, another note about that other chapter. It hasn't happened. I'm still contemplating. So just ignore it and focus on this lovely kiss!
Thank you for reading 🙈 sorry for any errors 💚
~Lexy 😈