Sara was bored.
It had been nearly five hours since Laurel had gone in to her boyfriend, Mick's apartment for a home cooked dinner and she still hadn't come out.
There was no doubt about what they were doing in there.
Sara groaned and rubbed her hand on her face. "Could this night get any worse?" She grumbled to herself and shoved her hands in her jacket pockets.
"You should never be certain what nobody is sure about," came a voice from her window.
Involuntarily, Sara jumped up in her seat and screamed bloody murder, but before she could get the whole scream out, a hand clamped over her mouth.
"Seriously, Lance. Is screaming really necessary? I'm disappointed that you can't even recognize my voice when you hear it."
Once she realized who it was that spoke, Sara rolled her eyes and pushed his hands away from her mouth. "Leonard Snart. What brings you to this neck of the woods?"
The man stood there in front of her car door and gve her a blank look. "I live around here, remember?"
Dumb question. Of course he lived here, for goodness' sake! Leonard and Mick were neighbors in the same apartment complex, the complex that Sara was currently watching on her father's behalf. Honestly, it was no big surprise that Quentin Lance had a problem with his daughter dating Mick. He was part of a biker gang called Chronos. "People in that gang never do anything but cause trouble," he had told Sara before sending her off to spy on her own sister.
How embarrassing.
Leonard was the lazy smart ass in school that Sara found herself drawn to, but she was careful to keep their interactions brief, although she couldn't resist talking to him sometimes. They had just been assigned as partners for chemistry class three months ago, so there would need to be occasional encounters between them from time to time.
I guess this counts as one of them.
"Ha. Right." Sara's mind ran through the good and reasonable lies that she could give him so he wouldn't figure out why she was there. However, she had a sneaking suspicion that he already did know why she was sitting in her parked silver Jetta at eleven pm on a Saturday.
The man opened her car door and sat in the passenger seat, closing the door shut. He gave her a smirk and pointed his finger up to his apartment building. "You know, from this parking space, you get a great view of Mick's living room window on the fourth floor."
Shit.
How was he so good at that?
"Now before you start ranting and raving about me snooping on my sister, let me inform you that it's not out of my own free will."
"Oh?" That damn smirk was still on his face and Sara was eager to wipe it off.
"Yes. If you must know, my dad made me follow her around the city to keep tabs on her. He's been worried that she's gotten involved with a guy from..." She stopped speaking when she realized just how bad the next words would have been if she'd spoken them.
"The wrong side of the tracks. Been there, heard that about a million times. It's the same old bullshit." Leonard put his feet on the dashboard and adjusted the passenger seat so he could lean back. "I told Mick to stop dating girls like you and your sister, but he never listens. You're his kryptonite."
Sara gritted her teeth and fisted her hands tightly. The last thing she needed was to kick the guy's ass right here in her car although she totally could. Opting to be more diplomatic, she embraced her inner patience and replied, "And just what is that supposed to mean? Girls like me and Laurel?"
"You know. Girls like you. The ones who are always cheerleaders and role models for your peers at school. That's your type. You're the ones who always walk with jocks on your arms and stick up your nose, thinking you're better than everyone because of your parents' money. You're all a bunch of goody two shoes who have that fake smile prepared whenever anyone comes into your personal space, but it's all for show. Underneath it all, you're addicted to guys like me and Mick."
His words were annoying and Sara narrowed her eyes. Who the hell was he to tell her that she and Laurel were shallow? He didn't even know them that well! Her ire began to rise and the indignant anger resound in every word she said. "So. You think that Laurel and I are the kind of girls who just like screwing around with bad boys, but pretend to be all sugar at home? Gimme a break, Leonard. You don't know the first thing about us!"
Leonard cocked an eyebrow at her, taking in her facial expression. Maybe she was being serious. "Then, by all means, educate me."
The first words that came to her mind were, "Go to hell," but Sara fought back the urge to be nasty. Instead, she decided to give him an answer, but it wouldn't be one he'd expect.
She turned to face him. "You wanna know what I think about you and Mick? Okay, I'll tell you. Every time I go to school, I see you bring your sister, Lisa and drop her off at the elementary side and you always hug her and give her a bagged lunch so she won't go hungry. You and Mick befriended Jefferson and stood up for him when those jock assholes who you think me and Laurel date - which, by the way, neither of us have dated any of those creeps - made fun and bullied him because of his name."
A tiny surge of triumph ran through Sara's being when she saw Leonard's face turn from a cocky one to a confused and slightly shocked one. As she predicted, he hadn't seen that coming.
"You guys may be cavalier in your attitudes about school, but you do care about people and even then you like to pretend you aren't, you are both big softies at heart. You want to know what I see in you and Mick? That is what I see. I see heart. Laugh it off, pretend I never said it. It won't change the fact that we both know it's true. And it's the only reason why Laurel is up there with your best friend right now, because even though it might give her hell with our dad, she wants a guy who isn't a bastard like her last boyfriend. She wants something real, and so do I."
Without thinking about it, the blonde held up her hand and touched his chest with her palm. "Your nickname may be Captain Cold and you may fool everybody in the school, but you can't fool me, Snart. All of that aloof behavior is just a front. You just don't want to let people in and see how amazing and wonderful you really are. Well, take it from me. Someday, you're gonna have to let someone in, or you'll only hurt yourself in the long run."
The only sounds in the car were the heavy breathing coming from the two teenagers. Sara felt her cheeks warm up once she realized what she'd just said to Leonard. She hadn't expected to get that...passionate about him, but the words just poured out like a river.
Feeling a bit vulnerable, she looked away from his intense gaze. The moment she did, though, he held her chin up and stared at her with a new light in his eyes, as if he were seeing clearly for the first time. Before she could even ask what he was doing, Leonard pressed his lips to hers in a fierce kiss.
She'd been taken off-guard by this motion and squeaked in surprise, but her widened eyes soon began to drop and she let her hand reach up to grasp his collar. The kiss lasted for a few seconds longer and then, Leonard pulled back, catching his breath.
Sara did the same, her pupils still dilated in pleasure from the kiss. She could feel that her cheeks were flushed and a small sense of embarrassment filled her at this revelation. It wasn't like her to blush from something as simple as a kiss. However, what just happened between she and Leonard was no ordinary lip lock.
Once she gathered the courage to speak, Sara whispered, "What did you do that for?"
A sudden resolute and determination shone in his eyes. Sara shivered from the look, unable to turn away from him.
Leonard touched her cheek and stroked it. "Because I'm an idiot and I shouldn't have said about you."
"It's more than just that, Len..."
Those blue eyes held her in their thrall as he touched her hair softly. "Don't act like you haven't noticed it. There's something between us, Sara. It's been growing ever since the day we first met in high school."
He wasn't lying. From the moment they met on the first day of school three years ago, they had a sizzling connection. No one else noticed, but Sara and Leonard had.
It was a cool day outside and inside the school was just as bad. The air conditioning must have been set on the lower sixties. Sara had forgotten to bring a jacket. She ran her hands up and down her arms, annoyed that she was going to have to spend the rest of the day in the freezing school. No one offered Sara a jacket because they either weren't wearing one or they were too cold to give one to her.
She'd been mumbling under her breath about the oppressive chill in the air when someone held out a jacket to her. Sara had turned in surprise and looked up into the brilliant blue eyes of Leonard Snart. He held out his black leather jacket and shook it in her direction.
"Take it. You're obviously freezing in that get-up," was what he said with a mildly sympathetic look on his face.
She wasted no time in accepting the jacket because she was very cold. Sara bought a cute summer dress with blue and white polka dots that stopped just above her knee. Any higher and she would have been sent home for indecent exposure - geez, sometimes schools could be truly tyrannical with their dress codes.
"Thank you. You're a lifesaver." After she donned the coat, Sara raised her hand towards him, intending to shake it. "I'm Sara. Sara Lance."
He had just looked at her suspiciously at first, as if he wasn't sure whether he wanted to take his jacket back or scoff and walk away. Really, he had no idea how intimidating he was to the many swooning females at their school.
However, instead of doing either of those things, he took her hand and shook it firmly. "Leonard Snart."
The electricity that ran through them when their hands touched was not something they could feign ignorance.
Sara remembered sucking in her breath and opening her mouth in a tiny gasp. Leonard's eyes had squinted for a moment and he took her in again, looking her form over very closely. She'd blushed then, too, come to think of it.
The intensity of their gazes were somehow unnoticeable to everyone except themselves. Leonard's eyes went over Sara like a caress and she held the front of the jacket tighter around her torso. From the way he looked at her, she felt like he could see straight through to her soul.
Unfortunately, by the time she tried to talk again, he slipped away and merged with the crowds of students going to and from their classes. He hadn't even said, "See you around" or "Nice to meet you" at all. Just left without a word.
This had gnawed at Sara for a while and soured her from starting a friendship with him. Back then, she thought he was being rude and hadn't given him the time of day because of it. She did return the jacket to him, though. Well, if you count hunting down his little sister on the elementary side of the school and giving it to her, so she could give it to him.
They preceded to run into each other a handful of times each week and initiated an on-again off-again, maybe-they-are, maybe-they-aren't kind of friendship. It was obvious to everyone around them that they liked each other, but no one had the guts to say anything. Leonard and Sara were the kind of people who didn't appreciate meddling people. Especially when it came to their relationships.
Now, though, it looked like things were finally going to move forward.
"So I've noticed, but just what do you expect me to do about it?" Sara raised an eyebrow at him and smiled coyly.
"I'm getting pretty tired of playing this game between us, Sara. There is an attraction between us, but it's more than that. You just proved that with the things you said about me and Mick."
The blonde smiled and touched his hand as it rested on her cheek. "I can't deny that I do feel the same, but would it work, Len? Could we really have a successful relationship? We both do have strong personalities."
"Tch. Trust me, Sara. If Mick and Laurel, can make it work for two years and go through hiccups and shit from everyone about being together, I think we can handle just as well. If not, better." He pointed to the apartment his friend and her sister were in. "They're not too different from me and you. I'd say this is worth a try. What about you?"
For the first time in the three and a half years that she'd known Leonard, he looked a little nervous, maybe even concerned that she would say no. The fact that he wasn't afraid to show her how he felt and his refusal to put on a cold, emotionless mask as he always did endeared him to her even more.
Sara inched closer to him and smiled broadly. "How's this for an answer?" Then she tugged him to her and kissed him. Their arms wrapped around each other and held tightly to their clothes. Leonard nipped at Sara lips which caused her to giggle and open her mouth momentarily. He took that opportunity to slide his tongue between her lips and explore the space inside.
Things continued like this for a while. His hands slipped under her shirt and tickled her ribs. Her fingers shamelessly groped the skin in his back and they both delighted in the flesh they found. After a while, their breathing became erratic and shallow, so they were forced to pull back.
However, Sara wanted to stay as close to him as possible, so she put her arms around Leonard's neck and nuzzled her nose with his. "Wow. You're a great kisser."
"Thanks. So are you. All that practicing on trees prepared you well."
A hearty laugh came from Sara's mouth and she covered her lips with her hand. "You just can't stop being a tease for five minutes, can you?"
Leonard's eyes darkened and his hold on her hips became tighter. "Oh, Sara. Believe me. What I have planned for you is going to take longer than five minutes."
She licked her lips and ran her forefinger along his collarbone. "Mm, well, in that case, you'd better take me out for coffee."
"Coffee?" He crinkled his brow.
"Yes, Len. I may be a lot of things, but I never sleep with a guy before the first date. That's the opposite of what dating is, you know." Her eyes sparkled with humor.
"Right. Well, where do you want to go?"
"I have a place in mind, but I'm not going to tell you. I want it to be a surprise. Are you game?"
Leonard took her hand and kissed it. "I'm still in the car, aren't I?"
She gave him another lingering kiss and pulled back, situating herself in the driver's seat. Sara started the ignition and cast a quick look at him. "Then fasten your seatbelt, because it's gonna be a bumpy ride."