Generation Two - Chapter Eight

Life became a boring routine, consisting of nothing but eating, sleeping, and working out. Work was great but exhausting. If I hadn't needed food and sleep every now and again I wouldn't have done anything else but work and extra training. I saw Leon less and less, and slowly felt my friendships fade away.

I tried my best to stay in touch with Tess, at least. She was Leon's sister, after all, and I wanted to get along with her. Sadly, she never had much time for me on the phone. We usually talked for ten minutes every few days, but that was it. If it hadn't been for Caelan or my co workers, my social interactions would have equalled zero very quickly.

I was thrilled when I was finally able to make some time for Leon again. My body was one big bruise, judging from the aches I had every time I moved a muscle, so I decided to treat myself for a change, and not work out before work. Instead, I rang up Leon and asked if he would like to come over.

Not ten minutes later and he parked in front of our house. Mom had a proper parking space put in when the house was built, so that everything would be ready for when we got a car, but so far that hadn't happened. We were simply lacking the money for one.

It looked like Leon had been able to afford his first car, though. He looked pretty proud as he stepped out and walked towards me, huge grin on his face. To celebrate his purchase and me having some time for us, we went out to lunch. It was great spending some time with him, and I went to work with a sad smile on my face since I didn't want to leave.

I was changing into my sports clothes when my phone rang.

It was a text from Leon. Party tonight at my house, can you make it? :) I really wanted to, but I knew I'd be late.

What time? I texted back, hoping I'd have at least some chance of making it.

It starts at 7.30... When is it you get off work again?


9. I'll be there, but I'll be late. I sighed, knowing I'd be home late, which then meant that I'd be getting to bed late, which then meant that I'd be knackered in the morning. But it was worth it. If it meant that I could spend a few more hours with Leon it was worth it.

And just as I had thought, I didn't get to his place until half nine. Work had been harsh on me, but I had earned that promotion I had been busting my ass for. Leon had exaggerated a little when he had called it his place, since technically it was his parents' place, but he couldn't have meant any other house. I knew he hadn't moved out yet, but I had a feeling that he wanted to. Whether he wanted to move in with me or on his own, I didn't know. Maybe he wasn't going to stay in Riverview altogether? The thought did bad things to my stomach. I would hardly get to see him if he left...

I could see as I approached the door that the party was already in full swing. Some of his other guests were gathered around the TV watching football, and I thought that Leon had joined them.

It was great to see him for the second time in the same day. We weren't alone, of course, but it was still nice. I made a quick mental note to maybe throw another party over at our place, so he and I could have some moments to ourselves.

I got up much later than usually the next day. Normally, I got up around half six, half seven at the latest, but that morning I slept in until it was nearly ten. I hadn't even bothered with setting my alarm clock after I had gotten home, and had just gone straight to bed. Deep down, I knew I deserved a bit of a break.

That didn't stop me, however, from pushing myself harder than usually. I rushed my shower and my cereal, and set the treadmill two stops higher than I normally did.

As it turned out, being a toddler's sports coach was a lot more taxing than I had thought it would be. Not because three year olds could run really fast, or kick those balls like a pro, but because their parents were idiots if they really believed that ten of them would sit quietly together in a group, pay any attention whatsoever to sports theory, or kick the balls where I had told them to. It took me three hours, but eventually I had them divided into five groups of two, and was watching proudly and, yes, also a little smug, as they kicked their balls between each other.

If that didn't earn me another promotion, or a huge pay rise at the very least, I didn't know what would.

Slowly, money was coming in. Caelan had sold his first few books, and my promotion had helped a fair bit, too, so we decided on buying a burglar alarm. We had gotten lucky the last time, but I didn't want to risk getting lucky again.

It took a huge chunk away from our savings, so that we were pretty much broke again after the purchase. We could only hope that it would save us money in the long run.

Annoyingly, Caelan turned out to be an awesome brother. Only two days after Leon's party, he wanted to throw his own. I was over the moon, since it meant that I'd get to see Leon, but apparently my dear brother was even more excited.

He went all out for this one. At first I thought he just had to get it out of his system when he bought a rather big buffet table, but he didn't stop there. Now, Caelan wasn't exactly a pig around the house, but I was the one who usually did the tidying. It was the weirdest thing seeing him running around, tidying every surface he could get his hands on. He even cleaned his old nemesis, the toilet. And then he went and did the rest of the bathroom.

He was like a man obsessed, trying to have everything perfect for his party. I was tempted to say something, but he did clean everything, so I stopped myself. Even though the only thing missing from this perfect picture was him screeching OMG! They are here! as soon as the doorbell rang.

A few hours before his guests were supposed to arrive I used the slip and slide. It felt so good, behaving like a kid after all that work and effort for my career. I forgot about the time a little, and only just dried off in time when the first people arrived.

I felt myself getting more excited when I heard Leon's voice coming from downstairs. He was the one, I knew it in my heart, but I didn't feel comfortable rushing into anything

I was just washing my hands, when Leon came in.

"Hi there, beautiful." His handsome smile made me feel dizzy.

"How did you know I was in here? You could have walked in on my brother sitting on the toilet!"

"Ha, you think? Everyone else is in the living room, and I heard the water running in here without seeing you anywhere. I thought I'd take my chances" he grinned. Suddenly it was feeling really warm in the tiny bathroom.

"Well, then, I'm glad that you did" I smiled, hoping it looked pretty and not stupid.

I could hear Caelan chatting to Tess in the other room. The walls were too thick for me to understand what they were talking about exactly, but I didn't really care.

I was alone with Leon. In a small bathroom, sure, but we were alone.

"Oh? Good to hear I made you happy by coming in here. Maybe..." He paused, and blushed a little. Naturally, I was curious.

"Maybe?"

"Maybe I could make you happy in another way, too." His voice was low, but I heard him just fine. At first I thought he meant kissing me, but then I realised that kissing me wasn't at all what he had meant. The cute blush on his cheeks gave him away.

That's when I realised that we had never actually been alone. Of course we had been together in the same room many times, but this was different. The atmosphere was different. It was thick, and heavy, and- and-

"Excuse me, I think Caelan called me."

"I don't-" Leon started, but I had already left the room.

I had never felt so... felt so... I wasn't really sure how I felt. Not completely uncomfortable, but not comfortable, either. I escaped to the living room and picked up the first book my eyes found. The words didn't make sense and kept blurring into each other. When I re-read the same sentence for the eighth time, I gave up and simply pretended to be reading.

Caelan, Tess and Connor were talking about something, but I wasn't listening. My head was buzzing, and I decided to leave the room. There was still a lot of food left in the kitchen, maybe some turkey with cranberry sauce wasn't such a bad idea.

It was nice and quiet in the room, Ted was the only one in there with me. Why had I escaped from Leon like that? Was it really such a weird thought that he and I could have sex? We had been friends since childhood, had been together since Prom, and I'd had feelings for him since before Prom.

I loved it when he kissed me, and had even thought about sleeping with him during Prom. So why was the thought so weird to me now? For a brief moment, I wondered if it was the house. We had only moved here because Mom had cheated on Dad, and then Mom had passed away not long after. Someone had tried to break in the night of  our birthdays, and would have succeeded if Caelan hadn't beaten him up, instead.

Maybe I was worried that nothing good could come of this house? I blushed at the thought. I had had the highest IQ in my classes ever since primary school. Surely I was smarter than this?

And still... I loved the house, it was cosy and the location was fantastic. I wasn't superstitious in any way, never had been and I certainly wasn't now, but somehow it seemed easy to blame the house and its background.

After all, I loved Leon. He was amazing, and he made me happy. Perhaps I'd even marry him one day. But if he wanted to move... Maybe a new start was what we needed. What I needed. I could easily get a referral elsewhere if necessary, and Caelan could write anywhere that had a computer or a laptop.

I didn't want to make any hasty decisions, though. Deep down I knew that this was a stupid thought, but I wanted to think about this properly anyway. It didn't have to be right away, but it was still an option.

Completely lost in thought, I didn't hear Leon sneak up on me.

"Hi there again, beautiful." His arms wrapped around me before I could turn around to face him.

"You're all wet" I stated, surprised by how little I cared.

"I went outside to use your slip and slide. I'm sorry, shall I dry off?"

"No, I don't mind..." It only took one more second, and his lips were on mine, hard. I wanted him, no doubt about that! And yet something was holding me back.

Even if nothing would come of it, moving was worth a thought. After all, I was only going over pros and cons in my head.

No hasty decisions.

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Wishes fulfilled

Reach level 4 of athletic skill
Improve athletic skill 2x
Get pumped
Hangout with Leon
Buy something worth at least S250 (burglar alarm)