~~~

You happily munched on an apple bought in the cafeteria. The two of you had just returned to the peaceful rooftop from the bustling canteen. There were many other selections but after what had happened, you didn't really have the appetite to order anything. Leon had originally thought of purchasing what you bought as well but you told him that he could pick anything. Hesitantly, he picked a tray of lunch set A which contained a carton of chocolate milk, a slice of pizza and a side dish of strawberry yogurt.

"U-uh, can I sit with you from now on?" Y/N stopped chewing on her fruit and paused for a moment. 'Oh no she's gonna reject me like everyone else...' The cute boy's lips trembled, preparing for rejection. Nothing has ever gone right for him, what makes him think it would go right now?

"Of course you can! I'll text Liz to let her know you are." You smiled, making his heart skip a beat.

'She's so kind... and so perfect' He teared up a bit. Leon has never found anyone so accepting. After all, who would want him? Why pick him when there's always definitely a guy with a better body who is in better health and have better self esteem? The only thing he was good at was doing homework and studying. Others also had wealth, something he definitely didn't have.

Although you weren't that very rich, you weren't extremely poor either. You didn't need to worry about next month's taxes, if you had enough to buy food tomorrow, and could spend lots of extra money on little luxuries like ice cream and chocolate. People made fun of him because of his odd traits in primary school. Now they make fun of him because of his wealth. What's the difference?

Class started soon and passed by just as soon too. You advanced to your locker, trying to remember which teachers had given you homework. Finally, you went to the school parking lot, expecting your mom to pick you up. All of a sudden, Leon ran towards you from the school, panting.

"P-phone number please?" He gently pulled out his phone and handed it to you, waiting for you to take it to add your contacts. He had hung out with you for the whole day yet couldn't even remember to ask for your phone number. He was a bit a shamed of his phone, as it was quite an old model; it was the flip phones that your parents used to use. Still, that didn't faze you at all.

'He came all this way for me? So cute!' Your heart thumped loudly as you blushed. "Of course!"

Internally, though, you squealed so much, knowing when you get home you're going to scream in your pillow from happiness. You just wanted to keep on spoiling him with lots of gifts and see his happy smile. Every time you thought of him, your heart always does a happy jump.

You took his phone, carefully adding your number and checking it. You then opened 'add new photo for contact' and quickly took a selfie with Leon in it. It was so cute; he gasped in surprise, his hair parting so you could see his eyes properly while you stuck your tongue out like a kid. You handed the old phone back to him.

"Here, now you have my number and my photo!" Before you could ask him to add his number on yours, your mother arrived, honking at everyone in her way. How typical.

"C'mon, lovebirds! I don't have all day!" Both of you flushed deep red as the students around you looked at you guys. Some people snickered at the thought of the class nerd actually having the ability to get a girlfriend.

"How are you going to head home?" You asked, unsure if he needed a ride or not."It's okay, I'm sure the bus driver won't miss me this time," Leon waved his hand dismissively.

You looked at him closely before saying, "If you say so."

Waving goodbye to Leon, you buckled your seat belt, looking out the window to pass time.

"Hey mom?"

"Hmm?"

"You have work, right?"

"Yeah, but I left my job early because I wasn't feeling so well." Her manicured fingers rhythmically tapped the steering wheel. "I felt a bit dizzy before. Planning to take some medicine when we get back."

"M'kay."

Dropping you off at home, you unpacked your school bag and started to do your assignments. Your mother had taken the medicine like she said and gone straight to bed. You had no extracurricular activities; you wanted to focus more on studying and getting good grades until the final year, which was the next academic year. You opened your laptop and realized that you received a gmail from Mr. Davis regarding about tutor confirmation. You grinned. Coincidentally, your phone ringed after, showing a message notification from an unknown number.

Unknown: Hi, this is Leon. The person you helped in the morning and sat with you at lunch.

You found yourself unable to hold in your smile. He was just so formal it's cute. Everything about him was cute. Should you pretend not to know him?

You: Sorry, who is this?

You: I don't recall helping anyone in the morning...

Leon <3: Oh, she must've given me another number

Leon <3: I'm sorry for disturbing you. I should've known

Leon <3: This always happens to me

Frowning, you felt guilty.

You: I'm kidding! This is Y/N! The person you sat with at lunch.

You: I'd never forget you Leon! You're too sweet to forget! :))

5:02 PM

What was up with your boldness today? For some reason, you just had the urge to hug him or tease him; whatever made him blush.

Leon <3: Oh!

Leon <3: Sorry for not recognizing you

You: Why do you always say sorry? It's making me sad :(

Leon's heart skipped. She used a sad face! What does he do? Does he apologize more or what? Not knowing what to do, he just left you on read and turned off his phone. He turned his phone back on but this time to admire you took of yourself and him. Your beautiful e/c orbs, your smooth h/c hair, and delicious looking lips... he likes everything about you. Maybe one day, he'd get to trace over those lips with his fingers, slide his hands over your body and so much more... He's falling for your every action.

"Leon!" A deep voice from downstairs grunted. It was his father, Vince. "Go to the grocery store, will you? Money and list is on the counter."

His father was a very gruff man. He had brown hair with some white streaks and a slight stubble. His physique, unlike Leon, was extremely buff and had a square-ish face. The opposite of Leon. Leon inherited his soft features from his mother, who was also the opposite of Vince. She was a cheerful woman who always had a smile on her face, much like Y/N. Leon could see why his dad fell for her.

Leon didn't know much about his dad's past as he wasn't the type to speak about it. All he knew was that he grew up in a bad neighbourhood, made some wrong choices and had done things he regretted. Luckily, Lea was there to pull him out of the toxic cycle and start a new life. It may not be the best, but his mom said that his dad was the happiest he's ever been, despite his always expressionless face.

Leon trudged downstairs and towards the door, grabbing the money on the smooth counter. Before he could walk past the door, his father grabbed him by the shoulder, making him jump.

"Just wait." He grumbled, pulling out a few coins, "Go treat yourself, son."

Leon gave him a meek smile before saying thank you. He never knew what his dad was thinking. It was no rumour that the Harts family was pretty poor compared to the wealthy kids at school. Leon and his family lives in a decent small house and always has food to eat, so he wasn't in poverty. They were just a bit tight on savings, which was why getting treats were pretty rare. Lea was a small-time author, who wrote books for children. Her job contributes to 20-30% of the household's monthly income while Vince had jobs as a manual labourer. His family wasn't much, but Leon loved them either way; even though he and Vince aren't close.

Vince sat on the couch and leaned towards Lea. In return, Lea kissed his cheek and snuggled into him before going back to watching the TV. The buff man still had a neutral expression, but it was obvious that he loved her very much, judging by the way his arm was tightly wrapped around her shoulder.

Leon was looked at them one last time. He wanted something like that with you. Maybe a little more. Where he could kiss you anytime and you would say that you loved him more than the whole world. But somewhere deep in his heart, he felt that that wasn't enough, and he felt the urge to lock and chain you so no one else can look at you.

Speed walking towards the door, he muttered a bye and exited. On his way to the convenience store, he thought about all the good things about you, and how he'll treat you better than Vince treats Lea. Muttering this all out loud, he got weird and concerned stares from people around him.

Leon was quick to do his job, he's gotten used to doing this, as his father sometimes came home late and his mother spends a lot of time writing books. He was fine with that though since it still helped his family. Time barely passed when he came back home. This time, his father was muttering quietly to Lea while she leaned into his chest. They must be talking about money again.

"D-dad?" His father turned around, staring at Leon with his intimidating eyes.

"What." He looked at Leon, expectantly waiting for him to continue

"Am I cooking dinner today?" Leon stuttered, fidgeting with his bony fingers. He slipped his hands underneath his loose sleeves and scratched his thin arms nervously. It was a nervous habit he couldn't get rid of. The healing wounds started to bleed again when he scratched the dried blood clots off.

"It's fine, just go do your work, I'll cook dinner today." Lea answered for Vince, smiling at Leon. "Your mommy very proud of you. Keep up the good work!" Lea gave Leon a thumbs up.

"Thank you." The shy boy blushed a little and flashed his mother a tiny smile of appreciation. His father nodded in acknowledgement and continued to watch TV.

"I'm so glad we have a perfect son like him," Lea sighed contently to Vince. Vince grunted.

"Mhm." They continued chattering comfortably on the couch.

Their voices faded when he climbed upstairs. This was Leon's everyday routine. On a school day, it starts off with getting ready for school and catching the bus. Sometimes, he would be unlucky and miss the bus, meaning the driver ignored him. Luckily, you were there today. Then he would study, study, and study even more. If his hard work pays off, he'd get a scholarship for higher education.

'One day, I'd like to say honey, I'm home to Y/N and see mini children made by us running around in our own house...' Leon thought dreamily.

Leon would take notes during class, eat a cheap snack during break, then study again during lunch. Ever since middle school, his family had to cut lunch expenses out so that he could go to school and pay for the bus fee. But now they're beginning to fail to pay, even though Leon's parents paid until the end of this month. After school, he'd attend a book club meeting once a week, go home and study, possibly cook dinner, shower and go to sleep. It was boring until Y/N came along. Now he actually had someone to look forward to seeing every single day. It was a delightful change in his life.

His hair fell across his eyes when he looked down. Brushing his dark brown hair over his eyes gave him the opportunity to not look at other people's eyes. The bags under his eyes came from heavy studying all night. Not effective, but if consistently done can work. Currently, he's already quite a bit ahead of most classes and have already started revising a bit for the exams. Checking his phone, he was overjoyed when he received more messages from Y/N. It seems she was the light in the dark hole he was trapped in.

Y/N: Hey, I'm sorry for pranking you..

Y/N: Please don't leave me on read

Y/N: Are you ignoring me?

Y/N: I'm so sorry... please forgive meeeeeee

Y/N: hey can we go to the amusement park

Y/N: Pwease don't ignore meeeeeeee

Y/N: I'm sowwy D:

Oh no! He didn't mean to make you upset! Fumbling with his phone, he quickly wrote a reply.

Leon: Sorry, I was just a bit busy and forgot to text you

Leon bit his lip nervously as his thumb hovered over the 'send' button. Was than an okay reply...? Would the reply make her feel insignificant and like she was not his top priority? Would Y/N be angry? What if she changed her mind about him? He quickly deleted the text, deciding it would be best to tell the truth.

Leon: Sorry I didn't know how to reply, that was all. I think going to the amusement park would be fun.

There was an instant reply.

Y/N: Yay! I wanted to go with Lizzy because the tickets are cheaper during the weekdays but she has classes every weekday. I'm glad I have a buddy :3

'Going out with Y/N... Not bad,' Leon thought. Oh! Imagine all the things they could do. Share cotton candy together, and ride roller coasters together, win mini games for her, and if he was lucky, he could even hold her hand at the top of the Ferris wheel. Leon patted his cheeks, trying to get the blush off his face although he knew it won't work.

Leon was feeling lots of emotions; love, fear, hope, insecurity, adoration and anxiety. There's just too many emotions for him to comprehend! But first, he had to finish his assignments. Hopefully his parents will let him go out with Y/N.

"Leon~! Dinner's ready." His mother's sweet honey-like voice called from downstairs. He went down and saw his parents already on the dining table, with everything set up before them. Today's dinner is rice, egg, a small portion of vegetables and a plate of meat. "Tada! A dish inspired by the Chinese restaurant we went to a week ago. What do you think?"

Leon and Vince both took a bite and slowly chewed. Leon really liked the flavour, it was unique to what they usually ate for dinner. "I like it."

"Really? Great, now I can add this to the list of options of what we can make for dinner!" Lea beamed at her son.

During dinner, Lea chatted animatedly to Leon, asking about his school day, grades and such, also talking a bit to Vince. Vince stayed silent throughout the meal and only answer when Lea talked to him. It was a normal dinner. Everyone was calm and relaxed.

Doing assignments took up a lot of time if Leon was working hard; by the time he was finished, it was already time to go to bed. He was already changed into his loose dinosaur patterned PJs that his mom bought for him, with fuzzy slippers and all. At first, Leon was a bit embarrassed, but he got over it since it was too late and he couldn't just buy another one. Lea thought fluffy PJs were very important during the winter and forced Vince to purchase warm PJs for all of them. Grabbing the huge cushion beside his bed, he imagined it was Y/N as he cuddled it to sleep.

Meanwhile, you laid on your bed, contemplating the variety of feelings you have felt today. 'I think... I have a crush.'' You held in a smile at the thought. It's been so long since you've had one and you forgot what it felt like. You turned to your side and waved the thought away. 'But I'll get over it soon.'

~~~

wOOAhhHHh 60+ more hearts in the span of writing this chapter?! THANK YOU!

I liked the suggestion of botanical garden + ice cream and the amusement park, so why not combine it into one whole big date? YAYmi