27

                                    

                                          
i love this chapter, he's such a nerdy green flag, but also maybe it's boring for anyone who isnt me so soz lol
Liyana Bluemell:
"You have to ask him"
Liyana scrunched her nose, her eyebrows pulling in contemplation,
"I don't know"
"no I'm not asking, I need to meet the guy that's got you this obsessed. Do a lil FBI assessment."
"I don't wanna make him feel uncomfortable"
"Whattt? We'll be nice, promise"
She sighed in resignation, "finee, I'll ask him"
"yayy" Flora clapped her hands and kissed her on the cheek before disappearing into the stock room.
An hour or so later, the end of Liyana's shift was soon approaching when Leo walked in. He often walked her home, especially when she had a later finishing shift, and tonight he had asked her to dinner. Liyana must've had some Leo detector because it was like her spidey senses tingled when he was in a 10 mile radius and her head snapped up coinciding with his arrival. She was crouched behind the till cleaning so he didn't notice her but she watched as he took a seat and began typing on his phone. 
He looked fine.
A few seconds later her phone buzzed in her apron. She dusted her hands off on her knees and fished her phone out of the pocket discreetly, hoping Tony, her boss, wouldn't notice.

Leo <3
I'm here, take your time *

Something Liyana had found confusing at first, but now an endearing trait, was the way leo used the asterisk icon at the end of his texts. He began using it once they started chatting regularly and it always bugged her because she just didn't get it. Eventually she asked what the significance of it was and he had explained that he likes using it as a star. Sort of like ending a text with a love heart or an 'x' he liked ending his with his version of a star. His answer at the time made sense, but also the way he had said it was kind of vague and embarrassed so she didn't push it. 
What he conveniently missed out was that often he felt as though she was a bright star amidst his slightly darkness twinged life and he would happily follow her to the end of the earth if only to get a glimpse of her. She was a wish granted. He also didn't include the part where he often typed out the heart symbol to try and be more direct, but always ended up deleting it after a flurry of self doubt and replacing it with his version; *. 
She finished up and walked towards him, covering his eyes from behind, 
"guess who?"
He stiffened at first but then seemed to melt into her delicate touch, the cold metal of her rings soothing his eyes. 
"Batman"
He said it in his joker impression voice which Liyana found way too funny the first time, and now he dropped it in whenever he could just to make her laugh.
"You got me, gonna have to kill you now."
"Would be my pleasure."
"She scrunched up her nose, "how do you think you'd do in a zombie apocalypse type situation, because that answer isn't filling me with confidence"
He glanced at the ceiling almost in concentration, "i think very well"
"Yeah?"
'yeah."
"Okay, tell me your game plan"
"Ive actually thought this out in a lot of detail"
Her eyebrows raised and she laughed incredulously as they started walking outside,
"It used to be my nightly routine to think of my responses in any sort of disaster situation"
"We're going to unpack that another time, but right now I'm intrigued in your master zombie survival plan"
"Well I actually have enough food in my house to last about 3 months because when Daniel started living with me I was really paranoid of not having something and not being able to get it"
"No way you have a food stash bunker"
"Mhm. Next date idea - i give you the survival room tour"
"Oh, so this is a date?"
His face flushed and Liyana admired him as it did so. 
"Stop. Anyways, If i was to be a sought outside in a zombie apocalypse which i'm not dumb enough  do do, but say IF. Then I'd pretend to be a zombie and walk into walls and stuff to trick them into not coming for me."
"Surely that wouldn't work"
"Im telling you, it would. I literally thought of that ages ago and then I actually watched a film where the main character did that and survived and i felt so validated."
Liyana laughed openly, her head falling onto his shoulder briefly, 
"I love it when you talk zombie apocalypses to me"
His eyelashes fluttered lightly as the statement washed over him and maybe it was deliriousness, but he decided to say exactly what was on his mind. 
"Well this is a big thing. I shared my plan with you which means if you were a zombie you'd know how to get me which basically means i don't mind being turned to a zombie if its with you."
He said the sentence fast to cover his embarrassment at the admonition, but he wanted her to know regardless. 
He just wanted to be with her, in any circumstances.
"I couldn't think of another person i'd want to be zombies with"
The pair lapsed into a comfortable silence but Leo's mind was anything but. Liyana saying the words 'so this is a date?' replayed over and over again and he internally cringed more each time. He had been stupid enough to not only assume but also say it out loud. 
Idiot.
However, as if sensing his thoughts liyana chose that moment to link her hand with his and smile up at him sweetly, "this is a date by the way. Don't get it twisted."
"Noted"
...
It was when they were on the dessert course that Liyana received a text from Flora in all capitals asking if she had asked him.
"So..." she rested her head in her hands and gazed at him.
"So?" He mimicked her actions.
"My friend is hosting a lil get together on Sunday evening and i was wondering if you wanted to come with"
His eyebrows raised, "oh"
"They  wanted to meet you so they told me to ask. No pressure honestly, i can just tell them you're busy or something."
Leo mulled over the question before answering
He was flattered actually. The fact that her friends, people she cherished, wanted to meet him gave him hope and made him feel almost light. She must have been saying not terrible things about him then. But another part of him knew how recluse he felt in social gatherings, even those with people he had known for years so to meet people for the first time and spend an intimate evening with them sounded slightly like his personal version of hell. But a bigger part of him wanted to be in Liyana's life, he wanted to do things with her and meet people  close to her and show up for her in whatever way she wanted. So when he replied, it was said with no second thoughts, nor was it tainted with regret. 
"I'd love to go"