My Heart Took Flight
He liked her.
She was different from the other girls in school, and Leodore was nothing if not particular in his taste in women (or friends, for that matter.) Though he carried the invisible label of "most popular guy in school," he was not your typical jock - and yet neither was he the stereotypical prep type, either. He excelled in gym class, which earned him much respect from the guys, and many female admirers. Yet, unlike many of the guys in school who were athletically proficient, he also enjoyed an abundance of intellect. His grades were perfect. He worked hard in all that he did.
Not to say that Leodore never went to his share of parties or over-indulged, but his slip-ups were few and forgivable, especially considering his academic standing. He was quick to own up to responsibility, and quick to remedy his wrongs. He was loved by teachers and students alike. Family and friends never had anything but the highest hopes for him.
People often said about him that although he wasn't perfect, he was the closest thing there was to it. Even the wallflowers and the shy students liked him. On more than one occasion, he was found sticking up for a student who was being bullied. Leodore couldn't stand bullies. His parents were strict, but they raised him to be kind, civil, polite, and to stand up for the weak.
"You have something that not everyone has, son," his father had once told him. "As a lion, you were born with strength and prowess." He had looked at Leodore then with all due seriousness. "Never forget, that as the stronger animals, it's our responsibility to help protect the weak. Strength is nothing if you only use it to your benefit."
Leodore never forgot those words, and as such, he stuck true to them and was a defender of the weak throughout the school halls. His father had taught him humility, and he had a great respect for it.
Many of the girls had a crush on him (primarily predators), and those that didn't admired his academic prowess. He could have had his pick of any girl, and he knew it - but Leodore never entered into a relationship with any of them. In fact, he rarely ever spoke of his "love life," and when he did it was only to his closest friends.
Leodore was an open book, for the most part, but when it came to the topic of relationships, he trusted only his best friend - a leopard named William.
William was a senior in high school just like him. He'd known him since grade school, and they did everything together. William was a good predator - loyal, trustworthy, supportive, and fun-loving. He'd always been there for Leodore when he needed him, even when his other 'friends' hadn't been. He wasn't a fair-weather friend, and that's what Leodore liked most about him. He knew he could tell the leopard anything, that he would stick by him through thick and thin.
In junior high, when Leodore had scored a "C" on a science test, his parents had berated him endlessly. They couldn't believe that their only son - their "star pupil" - had earned anything less than a "B," and had come down on him so hard for it. Needless to say, Leodore came from a long line of successful lions, so the pressure ran high in his home to excel in all that he did.
He never forgot how William had cheered him up the next day, when he told him about his parents' reaction to his grade.
"Don't worry about them," he'd said. "Parents always get weird when you don't get a perfect grade on a test. Like it's the end of the world or something."
"Your parents don't freak out when you get a bad grade," Leodore said, chin in his hands.
"That's cause they have plenty of other things to freak out about." He put a paw on Leodore's shoulder. "Don't worry - I mean it. You're a great student. Even great students get average grades sometimes!"
Leodore smiled. "I guess so." He looked at his friend. "Thanks."
Presently, Leodore stood in front of his locker. He removed a textbook for his next class, but his mind wandered to other things.
That girl had been on his mind lately - had been for a while, in fact - and it was growing increasingly hard to ignore. Whenever she passed him in the hall, chattering happily with one or two friends, his heart skipped a beat and he would turn the other way.
He'd never gone through anything like this in junior high. Well, he had had a crush on a tigress in junior high, but it died quickly when he found out that she looked down on other students (she'd been a popular girl, but had used her popularity to hurt those she considered lower than her, rather than help them.)
This girl was everything the tigress wasn't. She was kind, lively, sometimes shy, but abundantly smart. He hadn't noticed her during his first year in high school, not truly. But she'd shared several classes with him throughout their high school years and - though he never took the opportunity to get to know her personally - had come to know her through their interactions in class. He'd seen so much humility in her, so much mercy, compassion, and grace. Traits he admired greatly, but so rarely came across in an animal. And she was smart. Exceedingly smart. In fact, had it not been for her diminutive size, she probably would have been his equal as far as status went. Her grades were as good as his, but unlike him, she was small and frail. He never had gym class with her, but one didn't need to sit in on a class with the small animal to guess how she fared in that area of expertise. It didn't really matter; her smarts made up for her lack of physical prowess.
Leodore wasn't sure at what point he'd developed a crush on her. It could have been during the day when he found his mind wandering, uncharacteristically, during class. Instead of paying attention to the lecture, he was imagining that small, sweet face. Or perhaps it was during the night when he would try to fall asleep, and images unbidden would come to him of that girl walking the halls, hugging books to her chest, a cheerful smile on her face.
At some point he had admitted to himself that he had a crush on her.
The revelation scared him somewhat, as they were a different species, and a relationship between the two might be awkward to say the least. Not that she knew that he liked her.
Still, what would animals think? What would his parents say? Would his status at school changed, if anyone ever found out?
He'd tried talking himself out of his crush, tried willing himself to see her in a different light. He'd racked his mind searching for any and all fault he could find with her, and forced himself to focus on it.
Nothing worked.
For these reasons, he kept his feelings to himself, neglecting to tell even William.
But one day, he dared to approach the subject of romance to his friend during lunch at school.
Not wanting to be overheard by anyone, Leodore suggested they sit outside on the bench instead of in the noisy cafeteria.
Leodore decided for certain that he wouldn't tell William about his crush; that he would only ask about his view on relationships in general.
They'd chatted for a little while, and finished their lunch before Leodore finally dared to bring up the topic.
"Who do you like?"
"Who do I like?" The leopard repeated, after sipping a soda.
"Yeah, you know - who do you have a crush on?"
Will shrugged a shoulder. "I think Angela's kinda cute." Angela was a timber wolf who shared one of Leodore's classes. She was a well-liked student; smart, kind, easy-going.
Leodore nodded with a small smile. He felt some relief in the fact that Will was able to admit he was attracted to someone outside his species. But it still wasn't on caliber with Leodore's dilemma. He not only was attracted to someone outside his species, but to someone outside of his class altogether. He was a predator, and she was prey.
He sat there in silence for a moment, nearly reconsidering his decision not to tell Will about the girl. But Will shot the question back at him: "Who do you like?"
The name flitted through his mind, for it never really left it.
Dawn.
"Um...not really sure." He shrugged apologetically. "I guess Gina's kinda pretty."
Will tossed his can into the trash. "You don't like anyone, though?"
"Well, I do, but…"
The bell rang, and Leodore sprinted up and grabbed his backpack, extremely thankful for the timely interruption.
He'd never lie to Will, but neither was he ready to tell him the truth.
He meandered through his classes for the rest of the day like a ghost, finding it hard to concentrate on classes. He shook his head, trying to keep his focus in check, knowing that he couldn't slack off, not if he wanted to keep his grades well polished.
By the end of the day, he sat in his last class - one he shared with the sheep. He willed himself not to glance her way as she sat primly at her desk, taking notes when needed, but otherwise keeping her full attention on the teacher. Leodore did the same as best he could. He couldn't afford to let his focus waver, not when the year was going so well. He fully intended to graduate at the top of his class, but his heavy crush on this girl wasn't making it easy.
It was then that he decided that maybe it would be best to brave an encounter with her and tell her how he felt. It struck him as insane at first, but deep down he knew that he would never be able to regain focus unless he confronted the object of his affection.
He glanced at her again. She remained as focused and docile as ever, adjusting her specs and eagerly scrawling her pen across her notebook. He felt nervous just thinking about telling her.
In fact, it was several days before he was able to muster up the courage to go forth with his plan. And luckily for him, the opportunity presented itself to him in the form of Daryl - a somewhat belligerent wolf who would have been considered a bully, had it not been for Leodores' presence. Bullying still occurred in the school, but what few there were were smart enough to do it away from the lions' presence, knowing he would never stand for a thing like that.
Leodore was making his way to the cafeteria when he heard a voice coming from the other hall.
"Stop it, Daryl!"
He nearly froze in his tracks - it was Dawn.
Quickly he turned the corner and met with an unsettling scene. Daryl had Dawn's tiny wrist in his hand, her other pushing on it trying to get him to back off. They both froze when they saw him.
Frowning, he strode up to Daryl, shoving his muzzle right up to his face.
"What do you think you're doing?" Leodore growled.
Daryl, though he often yielded to the lions' authority, didn't back down so easily. "I left my money at home," he said, matching Leodore's frown with one of his own.
"So? Why should Dawn have to pay for your mistake? Let her go." He didn't raise his voice, but kept it steady and dangerously low.
Daryl stared at him for a full five seconds before releasing her wrist. "Fine," he barked. "Stand up for your little girlfriend all you want - I don't care."
Leodore's throat tightened at the word "girlfriend." He turned his attention to Dawn, who stood there slightly stunned and rubbing at her wrist.
"Thank you," she said.
"It's nothing," he said, awkwardly rubbing the back of his head. He watched her as she bent down to pick up a book she'd dropped.
Every second felt like a minute as he stood there, unable to follow through with his intent to talk to her. But it was now or never, and Leodore Lionheart was no coward.
He thought it might be a good idea to start on something they both had in common, and the first thing that came to mind was Daryl.
"Does he usually give you a hard time?" He asked.
"Sometimes," she said with a nervous smile. Then, lowering her voice as if she were sharing a secret, "I don't think he really forgets his money, though. He's come after me before, but after he's had lunch. I think he just wants extra money so he can keep buying those Flockstar energy drinks." She giggled nervously.
He shared with a half-hearted laugh of his own. They stood there staring at each other, Dawn with a disarming smile, and he with a nervous grin.
In an effort to keep the conversation going, he offered, awkwardly, "If you ever have trouble with that guy again, just let me know."
The smile disappeared from her face, and she now regarded him with subtle surprise. "That's...very kind of you…"
Sensing her discomfort, he quickly added, "I mean if you don't want me too I'll understand -"
"Oh it's not that, it's only...I mean…" She faltered. "I'm a little surprised that a...that is...someone like you would go out of your way for...you know, someone like me." She shifted uneasily on her hooves, and he could tell that she was now as nervous as he was.
"Someone like me?" He couldn't help repeating.
She nodded; her eyes had grown wide. "Yeah, y'know - someone as popular as you."
He let out the subtlest sigh of relief. "Oh." He smiled. "I'm not like the other guys, Dawn. I can't stand bullying."
The smile returned to her sweet face, and she clutched her books tightly to her chest. "That's always good to hear."
They shared an awkward laugh, and the silence returned.
Leodore's heart beat wildly in his chest as he realized that now was his chance.
"Dawn...I was wondering…"
She stared at him, waiting patiently for him to continue.
He sucked in a breath and mustered up some courage. 'Just do it,' he told himself. "I was wondering if maybe you'd like to go out with me sometime." There. He'd done it.
Dawn blinked, clearly not expecting to be asked out by the most popular guy in school - and a predator, no less.
"I…" She faltered again, reaching a hoof up to adjust her glasses. Books nearly sliding out of her arms, she quickly caught them and said, "Sure...that sounds nice."
Leodore's heart took flight, and it was all he could do to fist-pump the air in glee. Instead, he smiled and said, "Great! How does this Saturday work? Do you like pizza?"
She nodded. "Sure. And Saturday would be great."
They exchanged numbers, Leodore's heart dancing with joy, and parted ways to head to their next class. So thrilled was he that he hadn't even noticed the slightest trace of worry on Dawn's face.
A/N: I wanted to portray sympathy both for Leodore and Dawn in this story. Everyone's got a past, and I figured that both he and Dawn had probably gone through some rough times prior to the movie. I also thought it would be interesting to suggest that his ill-treatment of her in the movie was based off of more than just her being a meek sheep, or even his ego.