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Leo walked home alone, as always. 

Another day meant more incidents. Today he had been cornered by Dylan and his assholes before classes started and got robbed absolutely blind of his lunch money, which was already sparse. He’d retaliated by slipping the wrong chemical into the jackass’ experiment—causing it to blow up in his face and all over the lab. He’d been caught, been marked up for detention (third day in a row), but fuck, it had been worth it.

Was it worth the beating he got afterward? Debatable. The face he made had been really funny…

At this point, he’d gotten used to it. The back-and-forth. Dylan and his gang of meathead morons would do something to Leo, just to watch him suffer and try to fight back when he couldn’t. Leo would reply with some insane prank that was satisfying in the moment but would land him in trouble with the teachers.

Every time he sat in the principal’s office, pretending to listen to their lecturing while he watched Dylan make faces at him through the window—the anger burnt through him like a wildfire. 

But he always held it back. He always, always kept it cool. Because a troublemaker was one thing, but a delinquent was another. Stupid, irresponsible, disrespectful, ill-bred. Leo didn’t mind if they thought of him that way. It was what he wanted, even.

Angry, though? No. He wouldn’t let them know he was angry. That was too real. That was… too honest.

Plus, his aunt had already resigned herself to how he was now. If he got any worse, she would probably kick him out a second time.

At least it was over now though. Where he was going, nobody would find him. It wasn’t that it was super hidden or anything, it was just that no one ever went there. There’d be no reason to, especially at this time of day, the sun setting and making worried parents usher their little kids back inside.

There was a playground a few blocks down from school that looked like it hadn’t been cleaned or improved in years. The slides were rusty, the roundabout creaky, the whole place covered with moss and leaves. 

Frank Zhang sat on the swings, swaying back and forth, a morose expression on his face.

Then again, he always looked that way. Like a kid who just dropped his ice cream. Or a dog who got fed something sour, one of those breeds with the massive fur and stout faces.

Leaves crunched beneath Leo’s feet as he opened the playground gate (made for toddlers, it was so low that it barely reached up to Leo’s hips). Making a show of swinging Frank’s papers in front of his face, he said, “well, big guy, this should be it.”

“And… it’s all right?” He said immediately in return, taking the sheets. Ungrateful.

“We’ve been doing this for a while and still you doubt the quality of my services. Have I ever gotten you a bad score before? Hm?”

Reluctantly, Frank flushed, tucking away the worksheets into his clear file. “Alright, fine. I trust you, I guess.” He was referring to Leo’s answers, but the phrase felt slightly… heavy. 

They had a professional relationship, them two. Leo did Frank’s math and science homework; Frank paid him handsomely, rich kid that he was; then they went their separate ways. Frank never went to anyone else for his work, and Leo put more effort into it than he did for his own. 

Seller-consumer loyalty. They didn’t actually… you know… like each other. At all.

It had been worse when they first met. Hazel, sweet girl that she was, had accidentally clashed schedules. Leo still remembered how she had shown up at her door, Frank in tow, face twisted with apology as she asked if Frank could please come along.

That day had been… fine. The parts where Frank hadn’t been there, at least.

Anyway, things were okay-er now. Though they still weren’t exactly linking arms and frolicking through flower fields together.

“You—uh—got any more for me?” Leo said, feeling like a loser for asking. But he wanted extra money, especially since he had been forced to pay out of his pocket for a school beaker that his asshole cousin had broken. The fact that he had broken it in a rage after Leo made his locker spew out milk at him was… irrelevant. 

He hoped it was math. Science took some thinking, but math, that was natural as breathing. It was like getting free money.

“No. It’s mostly English assignments I have to worry about now. And you’re worse at that than me.” Frank wrinkled his nose. It was rude, but he was right. “Are you even literate?”

“I’m fucking dyslexic, you ass,” Leo snapped. “Whatever. Just text me when you need me.”

Leo was already marching away when Frank stood up, leaves rustling and swing squeaking. “Wait,” he blurted out, like the word was forcing itself out of his mouth, “sorry. That was… mean. Sorry.”

It was funny, the way he pronounced sorry. All Canadian like—he’d lived there until he was fourteen, that was what Hazel had told Leo. What was even funnier was him looking so remorseful toward Leo, of all people.

“Um. ‘Kay. It’s… cool.”

And really, it was. You didn’t make it so far living Leo’s life if stupid shit like that got to you. Frank probably wouldn’t have understood. Spoiled rich kid.

“You looked kinda upset today. Is there something wrong? I mean, you don’t have to tell me, we’re not friends, but…” Well, at least there weren’t any misconceptions about their relationship. “Y’know. Sometimes there’s shit you can’t tell people you’re close to.”

The accuracy of it made Leo bite his lip. He didn’t even have that many close friends to begin with, but the thought of telling any of them made him cringe. Hazel was dealing with enough, and the thought of giving her one more thing to worry about felt wrong. Jason, maybe Jason would try to take care of it, but making things a big deal would just make things even worse for him.

Piper… Piper. They didn’t get to spend much time together these days, a far cry from when they were practically inseparable in middle school. He didn’t want to ruin things. Didn’t want to mar the moments they had together, not when they were so few and far between. 

Most of all, he didn’t want them to know. Any of them. Just how pathetic he was. That, despite all the flaws they’d seen of him, there was even worse. 

He’d rather they stay like this. Don’t show them just how weak he was. Let them think it was some kind of rivalry—at least that made it seem like Leo was fighting on equal ground, even if his so-called family and the school system made that practically impossible.

Frank though. Frank didn’t care, did he? And even if he did, it wasn’t like he would do anything about it. 

“Fuck. Okay. It’s just… I’m tired of this.” Leo walked closer, sitting down on the swing next to the one Frank had been using. Frank returned to his own, too, and there they were, acting like kids as they swung back and forth. “It’s the same thing every day. You think they’d get bored…”

“Those guys at your school? Hazel told me about them.”

Leo nodded. He took a few steps back, rising higher, until the tips of his toes were barely on the ground. Then he pushed off, cutting through the air, the wind whipping through his hair. It made him feel good, for a moment. 

To his credit, Frank seemed to understand. He waited patiently for Leo to come down, boots toeing against the dirt. “Yeah. Stupid assholes. One of them’s my cousin, and my aunt, his mother, she’s always taking his side. Not even because she loves him. She just hates me.”

It felt good to say these things aloud. To get the thoughts in order. Leo never really gave much thought to how he felt about this, but now that he was talking, he was on a roll.

“Anything they do, I’m the one they blame. I’m too easy. Nobody cares about me, so it’s just perfect for them.” Leo laughed through the tears quickly welling up in his eyes, face hot. He would feel embarrassed being so lame in front of Frank, but the hatred is getting the best of him. “Who gives a shit that I’m the one getting beat up? The bastards sprained my ankle once. You know what the principal said?”

“What?” Frank said, almost encouraging.

“ Now, Mr. Valdez, you shouldn’t have been immature and interfered with their academics, ” Leo mimicked in the best old-man voice he could. “I hate him so much. I hate all of them.”

“Yeah.”

His gloved hands were curled into fists on his knees. Tears dripped down Leo’s cheeks and stained his jeans. “Hate them all,” he muttered, “wish they would all just—disappear.”

They stayed like that for a while. Long enough for the sun to set completely, painting the sky dark blue. Shadows cast over the playground, giving it an eerie look. When Leo finally looked up, Frank was still there, eyebrows knitted together and his lips pressed into a tight line.

“Sorry,” he said. He wanted to say sorry to himself, for looking so doleful in front of Frank. What the guy thought of him now, Leo wondered. 

Frank shook his head, a bit awkward. “It’s okay. I mean, I offered to listen.” He rummaged through his bag for a tissue, which Leo took gratefully, scrubbing his face until it was dry. “Those guys, they suck.”

Leo snorted. “Understatement of the century.”

“I wish I could give you advice, but you probably wouldn’t like that very much, would you.”

Despite himself, Leo grinned. “So you do know that. No offence, but you probably wouldn’t get it. Not all of us can throw money at a problem until it stops.”

The expression Frank made spelled out that he did in fact take offence, but he didn’t say anything about it. Instead he got to his feet. “Well, I hope that made you feel better. Even if only by a little bit,” he said sincerely. 

Too sincerely. The unnerving part was less Frank being nice, but more having that niceness be directed onto Leo. It didn’t feel like he’d done anything to deserve it.

“Guess it felt good to get things off my chest,” Leo said. His headache had mostly subsided, but he still felt the burning shame in his cheeks. He stood up, slinging his backpack onto his shoulder. “See ya ‘round, big guy.”

“See you, Valdez.”

“Whose homework are you doing?”

Piper pushed herself up on her bed, crossing her legs. She watched Leo write across the paper, pausing every few minutes to think. “Um,” he laughed, “mine, stupid.” 

“That is definitely not yours,” she retorted, crawling over to be shoulder-to-shoulder with Leo. The touch and closeness was comforting, and her pomegranate shampoo smelled nice. She tapped at the top of the worksheet, the part that proudly displayed an emblem— her school’s. Not Leo’s. “Or did you become an exchange student and didn’t even think to tell me? I’m hurt.”

“If I ever went to some fancy-pantsy rich school, you’re the first person I’d run to, don’t worry,” Leo reassured her. He tapped his pencil against his clipboard. “But fine, you got me. This isn’t mine.”

“You don’t even do your own homework. Gosh—are you being blackmailed or something? Someone got dirt on you?!” Piper gave an overexaggerated gasp, and Leo giggled to himself.

If only you knew, he thought.

“Nah. They’re paying me,” Leo admitted. “On that grindset, y’know.”

At this, Piper’s face shifted to one of real worry. “If you ever need anything, you know I got you, right?” 

“I know. You always got me,” Leo said sincerely, and it was true. He only needed to say the word and Piper would show up the next day with a brand-new something in her hands. But the more she did it, the worse Leo felt.

Like a leech. More of a parasite than a best friend. Or some sad, pitiful kitten on the side of the road.

He wasn’t pitiful .

It was better this way. Not having her concerned about anything, just relaxing in her bedroom in the sun shining through the giant window wall she had. Because of course she did.

“Really, it’s nothing urgent. Just saving up for the future.” Which was the farthest thing from the truth, but it didn’t matter. Nothing mattered when he was here with her, the few moments they had these days. Not the bullies, not his family, not the empty road ahead of him. 

“If you say so, dude,” Piper said. Her eyes still looked hesitant, but she dropped the subject, which was something he liked about her. “So whose homework is it, then?”

Leo turned over on his back. There wasn’t any reason to keep it a secret from her. As far as he knew, Piper and Frank weren’t friends, barely talked to each other in fact. But he had sworn to Frank that he’d keep this a secret…

Ah, well. He wouldn’t know anyway.

“You know Frank Zhang?” Leo said, reaching over to her nightstand to grab a chocolate bar and munch on it. “I met him through Hazel.”

“Oh yeah, I heard they were dating for a while. Not anymore, though.”

This was news to Leo. “Wait, really?” He said through a mouthful of chocolate. It made sense, now that he was thinking about it—Frank rarely brought up Hazel nowadays, and he couldn’t remember the last time he’d seen them together. He’d just chalked it up to them being from different schools… Hazel hadn’t told him either, though.

“Yeah. I heard from Drew. I dunno, though, she’s not exactly a reliable source.” Piper stretched across to Leo and tried to make a break for the sweet, but he held it out of her reach just in time. She pouted.

“No, I think they did break up. Shame.” For some reason, he couldn’t bring himself to be genuinely sad about it. Maybe a part of him still had a thing for Hazel, a little. “Anyway, yeah. He’s paying me to do his homework, ‘cause he’s shit at math and science, apparently. Well, he’s shit at phys and chem… he’s pretty good at biology, actually. He told me he wanted to be a vet. That was a while ago, though, so I don’t know if it’s still true…”

He trailed off, the hand holding his pencil stopping midway through a formula. It took him a second to realise he’d been rambling, and heat rushed to his cheeks. When did he come to know so much about the guy? Surely they didn’t spend that much time with each other?

They were professional. They were. When had they even found the time to talk about this?

Memories flashed through Leo’s brain of him spilling his guts out to Frank just a few days ago. He winced. 

“Wow. You’ve been doing this for a while, huh,” Piper commented, and although she sounded completely casual Leo couldn’t help but feel flustered. “I know the guy. Awkward. Kinda shy. He doesn’t talk much. But he seems cool.” 

“He can be real rude when he wants to be,” Leo muttered, and Piper laughed.

“Prolly because you had a crush on his girlfriend, man. But that’s all in the past, right? I mean, if you get along now.” 

Leo shrugged. He definitely wouldn’t call them enemies, not anymore. Well, maybe it had always been stupid to begin with. “I guess. But it’s not like we’re all buddy-buddy either.”

Finally, he put down the answer to the last question. His worksheets were always ridiculously long, even if they were easy. Leo tossed away the clipboard and finished off the rest of his chocolate. “Don’t worry, Pipes. I’m not gonna replace you. You’ll always be my best—best—” 

He jumped at her and poked her sides with every repetition, even as she squirmed and giggled and flailed her legs. “Best—best—best friend—”

“Stop it! Leo! Seriously, I can’t—” 

Piper devolved into laughter yet again, thrashing wildly to try to get away from Leo’s assault. Leo laughed along and buried his face in the crook of her neck. Like this, he could forget about all the hurt.

She was warm, and everything was good.

For now, at least.

They were on the swings again. Frank was still sitting, but now Leo had taken to standing on his, using the force of his whole body to go back and forth. 

“I didn’t know you smoked,” Leo said, watching the smoke waft through the air. He didn’t mind the smell; he was used to it at this point, from both his home and his botched machines. “I mean, you always smelled like it. But I thought it was someone else in your family, dunno.”

Frank wrinkled his nose and dipped his head down to sniff at himself. “Do I smell that bad?” He asked. Before Leo could respond with a resounding yes, Frank continued. “But, uh, no. It’s me. My grandma’s the only person I have left, and she’s… well, seventy’s a little late to pick up smoking.”

“Yeah, you’re just trying to kill yourself at that point,” Leo agreed, ignoring the mention of Frank’s family. He didn’t want to deal with the awkwardness of that. “I just never saw you do it. Plus, you always seemed so…”

Uptight, Leo wanted to say. “Well-behaved,” he said instead.

“Right,” Frank said, like he knew what Leo had really thought. “I try not to do it in front of Hazel. She knows I do it, but I feel like if I actually do it when she’s around, she’ll think less of me.”

The fact that he was doing it now, then, meant that he didn’t respect Leo enough to care about that. Somehow, that soothed Leo.

“You guys still hang out,” he said. It was a question, but he said it more like a statement. “I heard you guys broke up. Is it for real?”

“Who told you?”

“Piper. Mclean. She heard it from Drew Tanaka. They’re half-sisters,” Leo explained. It might have been common knowledge at their school, but Frank always struck Leo as someone who had little to no friends, and didn’t care much for his classmates. How he had gotten Hazel as a girlfriend was a mystery. “She could’ve been making shit up, though.”

Frank shook his head. Leo’s heart fluttered, a little, for no discernible reason. “Nah, it’s true,” he confirmed, his voice bitter, “we broke up. It was mutual. We’re still friends. Oh, but we don’t spend as much time together as we used to.”

“Damn. That sucks, dude.”

“Yeah, whatever,” Frank said, lips pulled back in an annoyed grimace. “You don’t have to pretend to care. I know you’re probably happy you’ve got a shot with her now.”

With a creak, Leo stopped swinging. Frank’s bitchiness made Leo feel bitchy, too, which was probably the main problem with them. Even the way he took another drag and puffed out smoke seemed bitchy. “Fuck off, man. I don’t like Hazel like that anymore—and even if I did, you don’t have to be such a prick about it. I was trying to be nice.”

“...Okay. Shit, sorry. I’ve just had a bad day.” Frank seemed sincere. Leo didn’t want to forgive him, but he didn’t want to fight either, so he just rolled his eyes.

“If you think your day was bad,” Leo started, in that way that made it clear he was about to go on a rant, “you wouldn’t believe mine.”

“Hit me,” Frank said. 

So he did. He talked about his bullies, the crude writing left on his desk, which didn’t really bother him considering Dylan and his cronies had the combined brainpower of an amoeba and couldn’t come up with a good insult for the life of them.

“Well, the razor blades were kind of annoying,” Leo commented, more to himself than Frank. He waved his bandaged fingers around at Frank’s horrified look. “I can’t even work on my babies now… my fingers have been stinging all day.”

“Your babies.”

“My machines.” A smile grew on Leo’s face just thinking about it. “Right now I’m working on a new and improved microwave that’ll heat your food up in a way that, you know, doesn’t suck. I call it the macrowave. You should try it when I’m done.” 

Frank tilted his head and smiled. “I’m not sure how good of a judge I’d be,” he said, “I’m not very picky with my food. And I don’t mind regular microwaves.” 

Of course he didn’t. “Of course you don’t,” Leo said aloud. 

“Why don’t you tell someone about what’s happening to you?” Frank asked, and Leo winced at the question. The guy had good intentions, sure, so innocent it was almost annoying. But he didn’t get it. How could he? “I mean, I know you said the school doesn’t care, and I get that. But why not Hazel? Or Mclean, aren’t you guys good friends?”

“ Because ,” Leo snapped, before he even knew what he was going to say. He flapped his mouth uselessly for a few seconds. “I just… don’t want them to know.”

“They would stand up for you. I’m sure they would.”

“That’s what I’m afraid of. I don’t want to drag them into this. Into… the shitty part of my life.” Didn’t want them to see the dregs and mud of it all. Not just for their sake, but for his too. “It just wouldn’t really solve anything.”

Again, Frank looked like he wanted to press the subject, but he seemed to let it go. He didn’t say anything, instead sticking his cigarette into his mouth and inhaling again. 

Leo felt like he had to fill the silence, break the tension. “Besides, once I graduate, I’m free. Maybe I won’t even wait until then. Maybe I’ll dash as soon as I turn eighteen.”

“So you’re just biding your time, huh,” Frank drawled, like he didn’t approve of it.

“Yep,” Leo responded cheerily. No shame in admitting it. “Then I’m gone. Better appreciate me while you still can. I know you’ll miss this beautiful face.”

Frank laughed in disbelief. “Yeah, right. As if.”

Smoke drifted from his mouth, dissipating in grey wisps. His lips were slightly parted, and he was smiling, not looking sullen or grumpy or anxious. It was a rare look on him. A good one. Leo felt his chest heat up at the thought.

“By the way, big guy,” Leo said, pushing his feet forward on the swing until he was nearly horizontal—with his back bent backward until the world was nearly upside down. He didn’t want to look at Frank, just kept his eyes on the vast dark sky. “If you really want to make me feel better, bring me some coffee next time.”

Blood rushed to his head. He thought he heard Frank say, “okay.”

The next time they met up, Frank had a flask of homemade coffee in his hand. Made from some fancy, expensive brand. It was the best coffee Leo had ever tasted.

Leo rasped against his locker door, trying to keep the bile and blood in his mouth from spilling. He breathed heavily, over and over, sucking air desperately back into his lungs.

“I’ll,” he managed, hunched over, but he didn’t know what to say. There was nothing for him to do. Both him and Raphael knew that, the knowledge that could only come from living in the same house yet being worlds apart. The truth burned Leo on the inside, anger heating up his body. “I’ll tell.”

“Yeah, Leo? Who you gonna tell, buddy?” He kicked the metal next to Leo, making him flinch. “No one gives a shit about you. And you’re not a snitch, are ya?”

One ragged breath. Then another. Leo stared at the dripping blood on the linoleum tiles of the school, then he raised his head to look at Raphael, his squished-in face and cruel grin. 

With spite stinging his heart and bitterness in his mouth, Leo shook his head. Weakly, like a drowned cat trying to dry itself.

“Good boy,” Raphael said, and the tone made Leo retch in disgust. He leaned back against the lockers as the other walked away.

His head pounded, and the searing pain in his stomach wasn’t going away. Leo used his jacket sleeve to wipe away the blood smeared near his mouth, and the snot from his nose (gross).

Before he could properly recollect himself, he heard footsteps coming down the hall, and the sound of a girl singing to herself. Soft, but loud enough to be heard. Some old, jazz tune from the 1930s. He pushed himself off the locker door and stood up straight.

Hazel turned the corner. Her voice faltered, replaced with a small smile. “Oh, hi, Leo,” she said. Her arms were covered in paint stains, and there were a few on her shirt and pants as well. “What are you doing here so late?”

“Just detention,” Leo said. A lie, but one that was definitely easy to believe. 

“What’d you get yourself into this time?” She laughed, walking closer. He turned away slightly, hoping the bruises weren’t very obvious.

“Oh, just, you know.” It was true what he said about not liking Hazel anymore, but it was impossible to be around someone like her and not get a little nervous. Leo stammered, trying to come up with something. “I turned one of his textbooks into origami.”

That got another laugh out of her, this one brighter. “Serves that jackass right,” she said, hand half over her mouth, “it’s a shame you got detention for it.”

Truth be told, he didn’t mind detention. He told her so. “‘s not like I’m super stoked to go back to the house every day.” She nodded in sympathy, understanding. Out of all people, Leo knew she would get what that felt like. How much she felt like an outsider in her own so-called home. 

“Hey, wait a second,” she tilted forward on her feet, and Leo groaned internally. “Is that a bruise on your cheek? Were—were those guys bothering you again?”

“No,” he answered, and it technically wasn’t lying. It was a guy, just the one. He cleared his throat, shooting for a more casual tone. “Nah, they laid off today. That’s just… I fell down the stairs the other day, crushed my cheek against the railing.”

Hazel didn’t seem to buy the lie, sloppy as it was. “Are you sure? You can tell me, you know. Even if you’re afraid of them, I’ll be there. We’re friends, aren’t we?”

The sincerity in her voice was painful, made Leo want to hurt something. Himself, maybe. “Yeah, yeah, of course we are, Haze. And I’m being real, nothing happened.” He pushed earnesty into his voice, that clear quality that said I’m being open with you.

It wasn’t that Hazel was dumb. It was that Leo was quite the liar. 

“If they ever do something, just tell me. Okay?” Despite her tone, it wasn’t a request. More of a command. Leo laughed along. “You can trust me. I know the school doesn’t give a shit, but I do. We can confront them together—I’m here for you.”

Leo knew. Leo knew she was. That was one of the worst parts. Afraid? Weak? Please.

“I got it handled, don’t worry.” He gave her a smile, one that made his bruised cheek ache, but he didn’t let the pain show. “But if I ever need a cool girl to kick some ass for me, I know who I’ll go to.”

She seemed satisfied by this. Leo reached out and patted her on the shoulder, squeezing affectionately. Hazel was so good, so much better than him. How did Frank manage to date her? How did Frank manage to lose her?

For a second, he wanted to talk to her about that. Maybe to confirm that she and Frank were really broken up. A part of him wanted to ask why she didn’t tell him, even though Leo knew she technically had no reason to. 

He thought about them, how sweet they’d looked together. Perfect high school sweethearts. How Frank had needed to bend down to kiss her, how gentle he was with her. How anyone within a twenty-mile radius could see that he needed Hazel, always pushing him to be better, braver.

“Why’d you and Frank break up?” Leo blurted out before he could stop himself. He and his big mouth. The smile on Hazel’s face faltered. “If—if you want to tell me, I mean.”

While Hazel didn’t exactly seem thrilled, she didn’t seem like she hated the question either. Instead she shrugged, face stoic. “Did Frank tell you? I didn’t know you guys talked. Well, that wasn’t really a problem… per se. It just wasn’t working out anymore, I guess.”

“So your relationship, it, uh, deteriorated?” 

“It didn’t. I guess that’s the problem. I love him, and I’m sure he still loves me, but there just weren’t any sparks anymore. We were the same, all the time… maybe we both needed a little change of pace.” She shrugged again. Her eyes darted around the hall, trying to articulate the feeling in words. “I think we were… it wasn’t bad, but it didn’t give us what we expected, is all.”

“Oh,” Leo said. He couldn’t imagine it. He’d never had a girlfriend before, not unless he counted Calypso from sixth grade who lasted two months wtih him. Expectations, sparks… it all seemed out of reach.

After all, he was into girls who were way too out of his league. Romance, to him, was something to remain unrequited.

Even now, he didn’t feel the urge to make a move on Hazel at all. Even if he knew he had a chance, would he?

Probably not. (Coward, afraid, weak… et cetera.)

“Sorry for asking. Was just curious. Frank and I, we’re not…”  Friends. Were they? It was professional. They didn’t even like each other, wouldn’t hang out if they had a choice. 

Nevermind Frank’s warm homemade coffee. Nevermind Leo having to take a ten-minute detour just to get to the playground. That was all just circumstance— no skin off their backs, as they say. 

“We’re not friends,” he finished, relieved when Hazel didn’t question his hesitation. “He just let it slip, I guess.”

“That sounds like him,” Hazel laughed. “Well, I’ve got to get going now. See you tomorrow, Leo.”

His name sounded so sweet on her tongue, but it didn’t make his heart flutter or pound or anything like how they described it in movies and magazines. Leo wondered if he was capable of that. 

Leo watched her walk away, content with all the lies he’d given her. For some reason, he thought of Frank again. The bruise on his cheek ached.

“What the hell happened to you?” Frank asked when Leo showed up. He had a thermos in his hand as always, and he let Leo tear it away from his grasp. “Valdez, that’s…”

The sentence was left unfinished, as if Frank had no words to describe it. Leo unscrewed the cap and eagerly drank the warm coffee, savouring the bittersweet taste. It made his face sting all over again, but he didn’t care.

“I know,” Leo said. He gingerly ran his fingers over the bandages on his face, the first aid tape holding them together. “Fuck. It was… they found out I stole something from the garage. They weren’t even using it anymore. But they cornered me, still, my cousin and Dylan and their dumb fuck minions.”

“When was this?” Frank spluttered out, in that tone of voice that one had when they had too many questions and couldn’t decide between them. “Did—did you tell anyone? No one asked? ”

Leo shrugged. If it were anyone else he’d probably be annoyed by all the questions by now. Hell, if it were a few weeks ago he’d still get peeved at Frank for doing it.

But right now, the worry on his dumb face was kind of endearing. “I wore a face mask to school,” Leo explained, taking another sip, warming up his cold fingers. “And I’ve been avoiding my friends, so it’s all cool.”

“You shouldn’t do that…”

“Hey, I didn’t ask for advice, man.” Instead of the swing as usual, Leo flopped onto the ground by Frank’s feet. It was rocky and hurt his butt a little, but he liked it, looking up at Frank’s furrowed eyebrows. “I got it handled.”

Well, he didn’t entirely. Or at all, really. His one strategy came down to waiting, waiting until he was eighteen, waiting until he was free. 

Back then, when he was younger, Leo never waited. As soon as shit hit the fan, he was bailing, running away. It worked. From foster home to foster home, street to alley, until finally his biological family conceded and took him back in again. After kicking him to the curb the first time.

He’d never forgiven them for that, but then again, wouldn’t he have done it all on his own eventually? It was what he did. He ran.

What had changed since then? 

Maybe , he thought, it’s because I’d miss them . Piper, sitting on her plush mattress braiding her hair while she talked about everything and nothing. Hazel, their canvas easels set up next to each other in art class, painting while they talked shit about other people. 

Going over to the playground after school—it was almost twice a week now, sometimes three. And Frank, with his grumpy face and his well-meaning words and his stupid delicious coffee.

“Just sucks,” Leo admitted, drawing his knees up to his chest. Frank looked down at him. From this angle, it was hard to see his eyes. “I’m always like, oh, I’m just waiting. I’ll stick it out. But I hate that I have to.”

“You shouldn’t have to,” Frank echoed. He gripped the chains of his swing. “Leo, I… I know you hate it when I say this, but don’t you want to stand up to them?”

The use of his first name had Leo’s heart skipping a beat. It was rare to hear it from Frank, and it sounded nice. Leh-oh, he pronounced it, without the ‘ee’ sound that Leo often heard from everyone else. But it wasn’t strong, almost like he was too scared to say it, on the fence.

But the words themselves. That was what ticked Leo off. He sighed and dropped his head against the swing set’s metal pole.

“Stand up to them and do what? Fight? They’ll beat me,” he admitted, something he would never admit in front of anyone else. “All these stupid—revenge pranks, party tricks. Everyone’s still on their side. As long as they aren’t the ones getting hurt, nobody cares. And those guys, they’re not gonna stop.”

They needed someone to lord over. Someone to beat up, push around, so they could feel better about themselves. Leo would know, because he needed the same thing. Maybe that was why hanging out with Frank made him feel better.

Except now, when he looked at Frank, he couldn’t feel any disdain anymore. So maybe it had stopped being about that, for a while now.

“They’re not gonna stop,” Leo repeated, “not until I leave or they’re dead. It’s just who they are.”

“It’s gross,” Frank spat out, more venom in his voice than Leo had ever heard before. He hadn’t even talked to Leo like this back then. Leo didn’t think there was any worse he could go, to be honest, what with how he’d been looking at Leo like he was a dead cockroach.

This look was worse, though. More hateful. It made Leo a little happy, and he felt the strange urge to kick his feet back and forth. 

“I hate people like that. People who just… walk all over everyone else. ‘Cause it makes them feel good to exploit their power over others.” Frank seemed genuinely passionate about this, scrunching his hands up in his hoodie. “If you’re good at something, you should use it to help other people.”

“Well, we don’t live in Disneyland, do we,” Leo snarked, faltering when he saw Frank’s disgruntled look. “Sorry. I mean, you’re right, but people just aren’t like that. Hell, I’m not like that.”

For a moment, Frank’s eyes drifted away, like he was thinking about something. “Not really,” he said slowly, after a while. “I mean, I thought that about you for a bit. But maybe I think I was just overreacting. You’re not so bad.”

The softness in Frank’s eyes felt way too unbearable. Leo wasn’t someone who should be looked at that way. 

“Come on, big guy. I was a real asshole.”

“Yeah, but I was too. We probably caused Hazel more trouble than we did to each other.” He laughed. Such a sweet, light expression on his face was uncommon. Or at least, it used to be, but Leo was seeing it more often nowadays. He kind of didn’t know how to feel about that. 

“I guess,” Leo said, hoping Frank would cease this undeserved tirade.

He did not. “But you’re actually pretty cool when I get to know you,” Frank mumbled, more like he was talking to himself, though unfortunately still loud enough for Leo to hear. “You’re so smart. My teachers are suspicious, you know.”

That made Leo laugh out loud. “You were that dumb before, huh,” he teased.

Though he expected the other to react defensively, or maybe get angry, Frank instead smiled bashfully. “Kinda,” he said. 

“Well, I’m not an ace student either. I just get by in my favourite subjects ‘cause I know a lot about ‘em.” Leo thought about his teachers’ disappointing looks, their gentle but condescending pleas to pay attention, focus. Like it was so easy. “You know more than me when it comes to social science stuff.”

“I’m okay at it. But I’m no genius. Besides, even if I was, no one takes social sciences seriously,” Frank laughed, a note of self-deprecation in his voice.

“Sure. Tell that to me when you’re president,” Leo shot back. The image of it made him want to snort, Frank all dressed up in a suit making speeches. How silly. Now that was something he’d like to see.

“Um. I wasn’t born in the U.S.”

Leo looked up at him, cheeks flushed in the cold air. There was something about Frank that made Leo want to reveal everything. To be honest without meaning to. A part of him that ached for Frank’s approval—but not for the fake Leo that lived on the outside of the grins and showmanship. The real one, deep down, weak and cowardly.

Maybe that was why he smiled and leaned in closer, touching his cheek against Frank’s leg. “Whatever else then. Point is, when you get famous, remember me, alright? The guy who did your homework back in high school.”

The tip of Frank’s boot nudged gently against Leo’s waist. “Okay,” Frank agreed. “I promise.”

Leo froze at the sound of footsteps behind him.

“Shit,” he whispered to himself, “shit, shit, shit.”

He spun around on the spot, panic filling his veins, trying to find a point of escape. But it was no use, and he knew that. From where he was, there was only one way out, and it was currently being blocked by several ugly teenage boys.

They sauntered up to Leo, casual as ever, the sadistic glee on their faces barely hidden. “Hey there, Leo,” Dylan called, head of the pack as always, “what you doing out at the school so late?”

“Your family’s worried about you,” Raphael added on, reedy and mocking. Despite himself, Leo couldn’t help but scoff at the idea that he or any of his family members would care about Leo. He wasn’t part of the “family”. He wasn’t even anything like a pet. 

As far as they were concerned, he was just a parasite, leeching off of them. A waste of space and an even bigger waste of existence.

“I’m going, I’m going home,” Leo said, ashamed of himself when his voice cracked. He made for the entrance of the yard, but someone’s arm shot out, crashing into his chest and knocking him onto his ass. “Hey, what the f—!”

“What are you doing out here, Leo?” The way he said his name made Leo feel like worms were crawling up his back. “Not good to be breaking and entering at a school of all places. So inappropriate.”

“It’s a public place, dipshit,” Leo wheezed. A foot pressed into his chest.

They all laughed. Laughed and laughed and laughed. It made Leo want to vomit, made his hands itch for a weapon so he could stand a chance. Please, God, just give me one baseball bat, he thought. But no such thing appeared. Of course. God was always abandoning him.

“You made us all so worried. How’re you gonna apologise, man?” Some other random jackass said, one whose name Leo couldn’t remember. He had horrible bleached blond hair, and Leo said so. That earned him another kick in the teeth.

Blood filled his mouth, dribbling down his chin. “I’m sorry,” he managed, just trying to get it over with, “I’m sorry, okay? Jesus, just let me go.”

“Sorry, but I don’t think we can,” one of them cooed, clearly not sorry at all. “Hey, you know what my buddy Evan saw yesterday? Tell him.”

“Saw you hanging out with one of those rich boys from Jupiter,” he said, and Leo’s heart dropped to his ass. Bringing his friends into this was one thing—them forcing their way in was another. “Got yourself a boyfriend, huh? I always knew you were—”

“Shut up ,” Leo spat, wobbling to his feet. He knew it was no use, but he wanted to rebuke it—deny it—maybe more for his sake than theirs. “It’s not like that. We’re not even friends.”

Raphael tucked his hands into his pockets and snorted, a smile growing on his face. The kind of pride that came upon someone when they think of a good joke, except Leo didn’t find any of this funny. “I just don’t get it,” he sighed, “even if I was a freak, I’d never be desperate enough to mess around with an ugly like you.”

He leaned in close, eyes boring into Leo’s. For the first time tonight his smile dropped, his face dead serious, hate written all over it.

“I wish you were never born,” he said, “and I bet your mami wishes that too.”

The heat boiling in Leo’s chest exploded.

With a cry Leo lunged toward him, shoving him backward, fifty-five kilograms of force barreling into Raphael’s chest. They stumbled backward onto the ground, and even though his arms felt like lead, Leo raised his fist and punched straight down.

His knuckles stung with pain. The next second he was getting thrown backward, a boot digging itself into his stomach, another smacking him on the cheek right on his bruise. It hadn’t healed yet, and Leo’s nerves lit up with agony.

Everything was a blur, a mess of pain and rage. Leo flailed, clawing and striking at anything or anyone he could reach, so lost in the burn that he barely registered a familiar voice until it was close.

“What the hell do you people think you’re doing?!” A self-righteous, annoying, heavensent voice called. Furiously. Filled with more hate than Leo had ever heard it. “Leave him alone. Get off of him!”

A body that had been pinning Leo down was abruptly lifted off of him and thrown back. Leo blinked, blearily.

“Wait, is that—?”

“Aw, it’s the Jupiter kid,” Evan teased, massaging his arm with the pathetic scratch marks that Leo had left. “Come to save your boyfriend?”

“Go away,” Frank said through gritted teeth, face pale and brows furrowed in nervousness. He looked like a trembling puppy, in front of the other boys, even if he was taller and bigger. “I—I called the cops. Better scram before they—before they get here.”

Leo laughed in incredulity. As if the cops would do anything. His bullies seemed to recognise the same thing, their smiles not fading, but Dylan shrugged and turned away.

“Not worth the trouble,” he decided, beckoning for the rest of them to follow as he walked away. They obliged, jeering and insulting the rest of the way.

Until it was quiet. Frank stood there, phone in hand, still shaking. He seemed angry. “Did you actually call the cops?” Leo asked, a little disdainful.

“No,” Frank said stoutly, much to Leo’s relief. “I thought maybe you wouldn’t want me to.”

“Good. I didn’t.”

Silence lapsed over them again. Leo didn’t know what to say, didn’t even know what to think. He hated that Frank was seeing him this way, covered in bruises and scratches. Most humiliating of all were the tears tracking down his cheeks.

“Why were you out here, anyway,” Frank questioned, saying it more like a statement than a question. Leo had texted him about going to school to retrieve something, but he hadn’t told him what. He supposed that was how Frank knew where to get him.

Leo swallowed, his chest aching with something that wasn’t bruises. What if Frank thought less of him now? What if he’d just been a fool the whole time, deluded by Frank’s naive words and understanding eyes.

“I left my jacket,” Leo warbled, trying fruitlessly to make his voice sound strong, “I couldn’t—it was from my mother. I had to get it back. If I lost it…” I would never forgive myself.

“And you got it?” Frank deadpanned. To show him, Leo spread out his arms, wearing the retrieved jacket. “Great. Listen, Leo, I’m…”

He sighed. Before Leo could say anything, anything, to try to fix this, Frank said, “I’m sorry.”

“Sorry?” Leo said wondrously. “For… what?”

“Just… everything. I was kind of a coward. Those guys, they should… you shouldn’t have to deal with them. You shouldn’t even have to go through the trouble of trying to stop them. They’re just scum.”

The shadows over Frank’s eyes made Leo kind of anxious, but he didn’t show it. Instead Leo scuffed the tip of his sneaker against the dirt and tittered. “Um, scum? Who says that word? …It’s fine, dude. It’s not your fault.”

“It’s not,” Frank agreed. “But it’s also not okay. It’s not. If I just…”

Every word that spilled out of his mouth was disorganised and nonsensical, as if he couldn’t get his thoughts together. It almost annoyed Leo, to see him act more frazzled than Leo himself was. He was the one who just took a beating, after all.

But he couldn’t be mad at Frank for being so worried. Instead Leo punched his arm comfortingly, gesturing for them to go. “Come on. Don’t worry about it. Can you just drive me home?”

“Okay. Okay. Of course.” Frank turned on his heel, stiff like a robot following commands. “I have a med kit in my car. I’m no good with that kind of stuff, but…”

“I can use it on myself, it’s cool,” Leo reassured him. He didn’t want to tell Frank how much of a privilege any medicine was at all, considering the only thing he’d get if he went straight home was judgmental looks and a grounding.

It was a nice car that Frank had, because of course it was. An Aston Martin, sleek and polished and seemingly new. Leo patted the leather upholstery in appreciation when he got in, withdrawing when he got blood and dirt on it. 

“Don’t worry about it,” Frank said when he saw Leo’s guilty expression, handing him a small first aid kit. 

They were on the road in a matter of seconds. Leo dabbed antibiotics onto his scratches, wincing at the sting, and slapped bandages onto his bigger wounds. He felt like Frank was always seeing him all beat-up these days, and it made him a little insecure for some reason.

Dread grew in Leo’s heart the more they drove along. With how close Leo’s house was, only fifteen minutes on foot, they reached there in no time.

He didn’t want to leave. He didn’t want to step out of Frank’s fancy car. At least in here, there was someone who cared whether he lived or died. There was someone who would try to chase the pain away, no matter how difficult it was.

But he had to suck it up, didn’t he?

“Thanks for the ride,” Leo said quietly, too tired for his usual bravado or quips. He really was just thankful. “Well… see ya.”

“Wait!”

Leo was halfway out the car door when Frank reached over and caught him by the wrist. He turned around, hoping it didn’t show on his face that his heart was doing a happy little dance in his chest.

Ask me to stay, Leo thought. Ask me to go out somewhere, ask me to go over to yours, wherever, whatever you want. So I can be with you and not with them.

“I…” Frank’s eyes darted around like he was trying to decide what to say, his hand around Leo’s weakening. “I just wanted to tell you that… I promise that I…”

A second passed. Then, to Leo’s disappointment, Frank shook his head and released Leo. “Never mind,” he muttered, “never mind. No, it’s—it’s nothing. Sorry. Good night.”

“Yeah.” Leo stepped out of the car. He wished Frank was braver than Leo was. His hand felt empty. “Good night.”

He shut the door and watched Frank’s car speed off into the distance.

It had been five days since then. Five days, and no word from Frank other than a short text message asking if Leo was okay. He was, but he almost considered lying about it just to get Frank to pay attention to him.

When did he become so clingy? It was just a few months ago that they were only meeting up once a week for a quick exchange of papers and money. Now Leo had grown used to going to the playground nearly every other day.

Five days. But still Leo missed it. The coffee, the air, the rusty swings, Frank. Maybe it felt a lot worse because he was still worried about what Frank thought of him.

The air was chilly today, which was nice. Leo had rolled down the sleeves of his jacket for once. Other than Dylan ripping up his worksheets so that their English teacher would chew Leo out, it had been a nicely uneventful day.

He could go straight home, make no noise, not even make his existence known, and he’d probably have an okay time. 

Something in Leo urged him to take a detour, though, down from school. It wouldn’t hurt to check, would it?

Well, it did hurt, a little. When Leo stopped at the gate, creaking as he opened it, and saw no one there. The wind blew through his hair, like it was mocking him, calling him an idiot for being hopeful.

Leo gingerly sat down on one of the swings, the one Frank usually sat on. It was a bit higher up than the other one, which was probably why it was comfier for him with his long legs.

For a few minutes, he just sat there, uncharacteristically still. Then his brain registered how stupid he was being and he got up, face burning, and ran out of the place like his heels were on fire. He hadn’t even bothered locking the gate.

Not that anyone would care, of course.

He got home in record time, embarrassment making him walk faster than usual. What the hell was he even doing… going to the playground, sitting on Frank’s swing, like some kind of yearning widow?

They weren’t close. They weren’t even… friends. Why did Leo care so much? Why did just the thought of Frank make Leo want to bury his face into a pillow and scream?

Stupid, Leo chastised himself as he walked up the steps to his aunt’s house, stupid. Stupid. Don’t think about him.

It seemed that, for once, his aunt seemed intent on helping him. As soon as he walked in, she exploded at him for how messy his room was, and made him sweep and clean every inch of floor in the house.

Though he had no choice but to obey, it wasn’t so bad. The repetitive motion was almost therapeutic, and it took his mind off Frank.

Until he was done, that is. After eating his “dinner” (a lukewarm cup of instant noodles) Leo retreated to his room, collapsing onto his tiny, misshapen bed. He rolled over, thinking of the playground again.

A place of safety. Of warmth. Even just picturing it made Leo feel better. Or maybe it was about the guy who existed within it, who Leo never saw it without.

Shit. Maybe it really had been like that , with Frank, although Leo hated to admit Dylan and his gang were right. Leo never thought about liking boys, always regarded it with a slight sense of weirdness and discomfort that everyone else did.

Then again, love in general always seemed like a world out of his reach.

Swiping a finger to unlock his phone, Leo pulled up the only picture of Frank he had. It had been meant to be humiliating, licking ice cream off his hand when it had dripped down from the cone. But he looked nice in it, tongue pressed against his own skin and eyes smiling. 

“Damn it,” Leo cussed to the air, or maybe to himself. He did kind of want it. To hold hands, hug, kiss, call him my boyfriend, all that stupid high schooler shit. 

The more he thought about it, the more his heart fluttered. “Damn it,” Leo said again.

Even though he had so many bigger problems to deal with, Leo couldn’t help but feel this most intensely. Maybe he’d made peace with everything else but this.

Midway through his crisis, his phone pinged. He cast a quick glance at the screen to swipe the notification away—fully intent on ignoring it and going back to beating himself up in his mind—but his heart nearly burst out of his chest when he saw the name on the screen.

Hurriedly, Leo stood up. Then he sat down, then stood up again, then finally decided on laying down. His stomach did backflips, like he needed to take a shit.

Zhang: Sorry for not texting for a few days.

Zhang: I needed to take care of something. But it’s done now.

Zhang is typing…

Leo stood up again. Why was this so nerve-wracking? He hadn’t even been this nervous when he was talking to the social workers before being readopted, and that was saying a lot.

“Just say it,” he said aloud, to his phone, as if Frank could hear. “Just… don’t be a pussy like me.”

Maybe he could hear.

Zhang: Can I come over?

Zhang: I kinda want to see you right now.

Zhang: If you want.

Leo tried to play it cool, as if there weren’t butterflies swarming in his stomach at the thought of seeing Frank right now. It wasn’t that he was expecting anything—Frank was probably… normal. He didn’t like guys.

It would be enough if he could just see him again. If Frank could smile at him and Leo knew that he didn’t think any less of him, that he hadn’t ruined this fragile, happy thing between them.

You: ok. ill send u my adress

Zhang: *address

You: wtv

What a nerd. Leo fell back onto his bed and sighed. If Frank wanted to see him, that was a good thing, wasn’t it? He sounded cold, but he mostly just sounded like that over text…

The minutes crept by. Leo left his door open and looked down into the first floor from his bed, craning his neck ever so often to see if his aunt was talking to anybody at the door.

In the end, though, he didn’t come from the door. He knocked at the window instead.

Leo opened it to let him in, looking down at the floor because his brain told him to. He was worried that just looking at Frank’s face would make him do something drastic.

“Are you insane?” He said, turning away to face his room, gesturing for Frank to follow. “Why’d you come in through the window, asshole?”

“I heard people yelling downstairs. Didn’t want to deal with it, sorry. Plus, your aunt sounds like a bitch.” Frank laughed, and Leo couldn’t help it; he laughed too. 

It was so out of character for Frank to say something so crude, but she sure did deserve it.

He spun around, going to tease Frank about it, but his jaw dropped upon actually taking a good look at Frank’s face. Two cuts ran down his cheek, and he had a nasty black eye—fresh, from the looks of it, and Leo was an expert. 

When he looked down, Leo realised things he hadn’t noticed before—his hoodie jacket was torn in places, his knuckles were a horror show. All his clothes were stained with a mysterious red substance that wasn’t actually so mysterious—Leo just didn’t want to admit what it was.

“What the fuck happened to you?!” Leo yelped, barely containing his panic. Frank wrung his hands, laughing nervously. “Oh my god. What the fuck.”

“Calm down,” Frank said. It was hard for Leo to oblige. “A lot of this… isn’t mine.”

Silence hung over them. Leo could hear himself breathing, heavily, so shocked at the audacity Frank seemingly had to think that sentence made anything better.

Actually… it did make things a little better. At least he wasn’t seriously injured…

Leo rubbed his face with his hands to regain some control over himself. “What happened?” He asked. 

At least Frank seemed to like this question, now that it was phrased much nicer. He smiled; a real one, not a wobbly one made from pure anxiety. It was safe, warm. “I took care of those assholes,” he said, “I—what’s the saying again?—right, gave them a taste of their own medicine. They probably won’t bother you anymore!”

His demeanor reminded Leo of a dog, one with perked up ears and a wagging tail. Like he had just done a cool trick and was expecting a treat.

“So you…” There were too many questions to ask, but Leo chose the one with the answer most likely to satisfy him. “You won?”

“ Duh. You think this is bad, you should see them.”

Despite himself, Leo laughed. He put his elbows on his knees and laughed, joy bubbling through his chest. The thought of them beat up and bleeding made Leo giddy, like some distant wish had finally come true when he’d never even come close to thinking it could.

“That’s why Raph isn’t home yet,” Leo said to himself, “he usually is… I thought he was just out messing around… but he was just getting his ass kicked…”

“Yeah.” Frank nodded, and he made to take off his jacket but winced. “Hold on, do you mind if I…?”

“Go ahead,” Leo said, still somewhat out of it. He didn’t know whether to be happy or sad, angry or proud. He hated feeling like some weak damsel who needed to be protected—and he hated to think of what could possibly happen in the aftermath. 

What if they decided to tell the police? With so many of them, they wouldn’t even need proof or witnesses, and Frank’s injuries were evidence enough. Frank, so righteous and weird and obsessed with morality… who went and  “took care” of something for Leo without even telling him. Leo didn’t like it when people did things for him, tried to decide what was best for him. God knows too many people did that, and they were never right.

But right now, he couldn’t bring himself to be very mad.

Before Frank shrugged off his jacket, he reached into its pocket and pulled out something, tossing it on the floor. Leo grimaced at the box knife, completely soaked in blood.

“You used a knife,” he stated, stupidly.

“Um,” Frank said, “I can’t take on, like, five guys while unarmed… I’m not that cool.”

Leo laughed again, incredulous and amused, burying his face in his hands. “You are fucking insane,” he mumbled. “Why did you even…?”

“Because it’s wrong,” Frank said adamantly. His face pulled into that familiar grumpy look, the one that Leo used to make fun of but now found endearing. “I don’t care why they do that, if it’s to make them feel better about themselves, whether they actually genuinely hate you—it doesn’t matter. To treat someone like that for your own entertainment, it’s terrible.”

“I guess,” Leo said. He thought about his Disneyland remark and how inappropriate it seemed now that Frank had stood his ground with nothing but his hands and a utility knife. 

“Not you guess. It is terrible. You said it yourself; no one was gonna stop them, so I did. It wasn’t your responsibility, either.”

Guilt washed through Leo. He couldn’t believe he’d dragged someone else into this mess. “And how come it’s yours?”

“Trust me. I wanted to do it,” Frank said sincerely, something unsettling in his eyes. “I liked doing it. And… maybe, partly, it was because… I also like you.”

Leo huffed, disappointed at himself at the way his heart skipped a beat. “Oh yeah? This a confession, big guy?” He teased. “Didn’t work out with Hazel so now you’re moving on to guys? I didn’t take you for such a playboy.”

To his surprise, Frank flushed. Hard. His cheeks almost matched the shade of red the blood on his face was. “Is that a rejection?” 

“You—” Every alarm in Leo’s head was blaring at full volume. That wasn’t how Frank was supposed to react to that joke, fuck! “You actually—”

“Look.” Frank cleared his throat. “That night, at the school. I realised that… you told me about it, but I never—I guess it never registered to me how serious it was. How bad it was. And it made me feel like shit. I just let it happen even though I knew everything.”

He paused, as if expecting Leo to say something, but Leo couldn’t find anything to say. An extremely rare moment for him, but this was an extremely rare situation, wasn’t it? All he did was stare at Frank with wide eyes.

“I kind of realised it then. How much I want to see you just…” Frank breathed shakily, lips opening and closing as he tried to find the right words. “Happy. And safe. Like you are when we meet up. I wanna protect you, and be with you all the time, and… shit, I dunno. Make you happy. Like a boyfriend does.”

It was ridiculous to think of, that anyone could care about Leo that much. That Leo would ever occupy a space in someone’s mind like that. That he could ever drive someone to be like this, bloody and timid and nervous. 

Someone like him wasn’t someone who made other people feel that way. Yet here Frank was, on his knees while Leo sat on the bed, proclaiming just that.

Not knowing what to say, how to begin to capture all the thoughts racing through his mind, Leo laughed skittishly. “I bet you… tell all the girls that.”

“Don’t say that. I…” Frank sniffed and dropped his head into Leo’s lap. “I really mean it. But if you don’t feel the same way, it’s alright. I’m sorry.”

“No!” Leo blurted out. “No, I… I just… can’t believe anyone would do this for me. Would care about me this much.” It kind of stung to be so honest, but he also needed Frank to know. “I do. Feel the same way.”

“Really?” Like an excited dog, Frank’s eyes shone as he looked up. “Really?! Oh, wow… oh, I didn’t think you actually…”

In the next moment he was on top of Leo, and they flopped back onto the mattress. Frank seemed to frequently forget just how heavy and big he was, and this was one such situation, but Leo didn’t mind. Having Frank’s arms around made him feel safe.

“I really like you,” Frank said, nose a hair’s breadth away from Leo’s. He had a nice nose, straight and angular. Leo tried to focus on it to keep his mind away from what was below it. “Even if you’re a real annoying ass sometimes.”

“You smell like blood,” Leo whispered.

He wasn’t sure who started it. Maybe it was Frank, excitable as he was, who moved first. Or Leo, always the bolder one, who did. Either way, they were kissing, lips pressed together.

Leo didn’t know how to kiss. Frank was better than him. That made sense, he had more experience. He tilted his head and pushed forward, and Leo just followed. It felt like his organs were about to explode out of his body.

Frank licked at Leo’s bottom lip before pulling away. “You taste like blood, too,” murmured Leo. It was the only thing he could think of, the feel of Frank lips. The other smiled apologetically. “And get your stupid knife off the floor. My—my aunt’s gonna get mad at me.”

“Oh. Yeah.” Frank shifted, reaching to grab the tool. “Hah… I’ll use it to get rid of anyone who bothers you from now on.”

“Stop saying crazy shit and kiss me again.”

Frank listened, and happily at that. Leo sighed into his mouth, and for once, he couldn’t think of anything else.