Why Steve Leonard Liked Valentine's Day
I do not own any of Mr. Shan's characters!
Part II
Sorry if there are any errors! I typed this up as quickly as I could since I only had a two hour limit. Anyway, enjoy!
It appeared as though life had taken them to the park. Both boys, thoroughly shaken, sat next to each other on the swings with the breeze whispering through their hair, as if trying to reassure them that harm wouldn't come in their way there.
"Darren, how did this happen? Who was that guy?" Steve asked with a suspiciously choking voice. Darren froze. Steve never cried!
"Are you crying, Steve?" asked Darren carefully.
Steve scoffed and frantically wiped at his eyes. Ah, so that's why my eyes were going blurry.
"No. Just, answer the question, Darren."
"Steve, I-I don't know. I was following you because I knew that you weren't heading for class. I wanted to know where you were going," Darren took a deep breath then continued warily, "It's not good to skip class, you know?"
Steve snorted softly.
"Then I passed the restrooms and I felt someone grab me and, well, you came in after a while and here we are." Darren finished.
It made absolutely no sense.
"I think you do know who he is, Darren. I mean, why else would some... Some GUY just GRAB YOU?" He hadn't meant to yell. He was just so angry!
Darren cringed and Steve instantly felt guilty. He wanted to go over and embrace his best friend.. OR Hold him in his arms until everything would be all right, but if he did that, Darren would most assuredly freak out.
"I'm sorry."
For the second time, Darren froze. He looked over at Steve and saw that his best friend was biting his lip nervously while looking at his shoes, the ground, or perhaps the ant that happened to be scuttling by while trying to avoid their gigantic towers called... Legs.
And while Darren stared at those lips, Steve happened to look up and they both locked eyes. Steve broke the contact first and laughed.
"Look at us, getting all worked up over something... Stupid." His eyes shone with something that Darren couldn't quite place, again.
"Yeah, we must look pretty dumb, huh? How about we go home, Steve? Mom and dad are still at work and they won't be back until five. Annie doesn't get home until three. We can play video games and eat chips," offered Darren.
This was so unlike Darren. Skip school? Eat chips AND play video games while no one was home?
Perhaps he was finally rubbing off on Darren. Steve hoped it wasn't the latter.. He liked Darren the way he was, thank you very much.
Steve nodded then hopped off the swing
However, as they both walked to Darren's home, Steve could only think of one thing. Darren had said, 'let's go home'. To him.
Home.
Admittedly, he'd never seen his own home as a true home. Perhaps Darren had said that because he thought of a memory.
Steve smiled at that particular memory. They both were around eleven or twelve, so young and still innocent. Steve, not so much because he did manage to steal a couple of comic books that week but he skipped over that minor detail.
Oh, how his life had changed drastically that year. It was around the time of Valentine's Day and his mother and brought, yet again, another man home. Steve thought that this man was like every other man that was brought over, but he was quite different. He believed in punishment and Steve had a smart mouth. The two things did not mix well and truth be told, Steve barely got out alive. He had scrambled out of his window and ran to Darren's home around ten at night. From there, he climbed Darren's tree and threw pebbles, three to be exact, at his window.
The look of surprise and glee on his young Darren's face was worth so much and Steve instantly felt better. He signaled for his young friend to open the window. A couple of seconds later, Steve carefully hopped onto the edge of the roof and into the window with the help of Darren.
"Hi, Darren."
He smiled into the darkness and watched him cautiously for his reaction. The young Steve expected many things, one of them being that he be kicked out by Darren's mother, or at least told to go home by Darren.
Even so, he did not expect to be abruptly hugged fiercely by his dark haired friend. Steve closed his eyes and practically melted into his arms. Together, they stayed embraced for a long time, until Darren took Steve's hand and walked him over to his bed.
Steve remembered swallowing nervously because he was expecting to see Mrs. Shan walk in at any minute. But she did not. Darren pulled over the covers and smiled nervously at Steve. He climbed into the bed and patted the space next to him. Accepting the invitation, Steve unzipped his jacket and peeled off his shoes then climbed right after Darren.
For a moment, Steve laid in the bed stiffly. He wasn't used to this kind of affection. It felt so odd to be wanted.
But he loved it, and he latched onto that feeling for as long as he could. He turned to face his best friend and smiled a skittish smiled like Darren, and reached for his friend's hand. When he had finally found it, he locked fingers with Darren and closed his eyes with the image of his best pal in mind.
Somewhere else, possibly paradise, he felt a brief, soft kiss on his cheek, a warm "Hello" next to his ear, and felt a warmth surrounding him as the mattress creaked. He felt so peaceful.
Waking up the following morning had been indescribable. His eyes slowly opened and dark brown hair made up most of what he saw. Scrolling his eyes further down, he came upon the sleeping form of Darren. Their arms and legs were intertwined intricately and the blankets were quite a mess yet somehow, their hands were still connected.
But, like most things in life, all good things must come to end.
The sun was quickly approaching and he regretfully let go of Darren's hand. The moment he so, bright green eyes met his own eyes. His hand was caught again in the other's.
"Where're you goin'?" asked the sleepy Darren who shuffled closer, obviously seeking warmth.
Steve laughed faintly and answered, "I have to go home, Darren."
"But this is your home."
Steve closed his eyes and squeezed Darren's hand gently. He murmured a soft, "Thank you," sighed, then stepped out of the bed lithely, trying not to create much noise as he threw on his shoes.
"Y'know, you're like a leopard, Steve. You're so fast," Darren yawned before continuing, "and when you move, you almost don't make any noise..." Steve turned around and looked down at a thoroughly 'just woke up so I'm rambling nonsense' Darren.
"See you at school, Shan."
With one last lingering look at his green-eyed friend, he walked over to the window and unlocked the same window that he had come in through. Steve jumped to the branch, but not before he heard the words "My leopard" somewhere behind him. He looked back at Darren's window and sniggered lightheartedly.
It was only when he was one street away from his house, that he remembered that he had left his jacket at Darren's home.
When he arrived at school and went to his locker, he was greeted with his blue jacket and a sticky note with the word 'Leopard' scribbled on it.
From then on, he was referred to as Steve Leopard.
"Steve? Steve? Hello? You in there?" Darren cleared his throat loudly, "YO, LEOPARD."
Said leopard cleared his head then played along with Darren by adding a deep voiced, "Yo, Shan."
They both laughed their way home while cracking jokes and bringing up old memories about the substitute teacher in sixth grade and how Steve made her life a living hell.
When they arrived at the Shan residence, Darren skipped, actually skipped, to the potted plant on the left and pulled out a key with a smug smile.
"Nice prancing, Shan."
"Shush, you."
Darren fumbled with the door by adding a mindless "Bloody door, always getting jammed," then finally opened it. It had been a while since Steve had last come to Darren's home so he looked around for a bit.
Steve unzipped his jacket and placed it on the coat hanger then spotted the pictures that were placed on the fireplace.
Hmm. This is new.
From the left, he could see a picture of a spaghetti-covered toddler, most likely Darren. The eyes were so bright and they looked quite eager as they most likely looked up camera. The next picture was of Annie Shan sitting on what appeared to be a picnic blanket.
She was an understanding girl, really. Steve remembered spending an afternoon with the girl when Darren was at the park. She seemed to get him and he suddenly found himself telling her everything. Her soft eyes didn't shine with sympathy, thank goodness, but they were very passionate and altruistic.
"I'm glad Darren has you as a friend, Steve." she admitted quietly.
Steve directed his smile at her, then he vowed to himself that he would always watch out for her, not only for Darren's sake, but because he grew to love the little girl like a sister.
Next to Annie, was perhaps the image that would be found underneath the word 'Family' in the dictionary.
The Shan family smiled their best of smiles and wore clothing that complimented each of them in their own way, while still managing to look like a whole. Mrs. Shan had always held herself with grace and everything about her yelled sophistication. Despite of that, she did indeed have a sense of humor and he briefly remembered a time when he had made her laugh.
He felt so accomplished that day.
Mr. Shan on the other hand was a disheveled man. His hair was tossed artfully and his eyes crinkled and shone as if he knew something that the others' did not. Whenever Mr. Shan entered the room, everyone straightened up. His presence brought on a certain importance and it felt great to be in his presence. Steve rarely saw the man but he knew that the man was intelligent. In fact, he remembered sneaking into the office of Mr. Shan with Darren to get a couple of mints. In that office, he saw many maps and letters placed onto the wall in a way that would probably only make sense to the man. It amazed Steve at how much Darren looked like Mr. Shan. They both had the same smile and the bedraggled appearance that only Mr. Shan could work properly and Darren could only hope of achieving one day.
Following Mr. Shan was Darren and his eyes seemed to shine with pride as he looked up at his mother and father in the photo. Annie, on the other hand, appeared to be stifling her tinkle-like laugh with a hand as she looked at the camera. Separately, they looked incomplete, but together, they looked like a whole.
Looking at Mr. Shan and Darren again, Steve wondered if maybe he looked like his father. If they both had the same facial features or at least laughed the same way...
Before he could get further into his thoughts, he looked at the last photo.
There were two young boys standing closely next to each other. One had an arm over the other's shoulder and the other was carrying a trophy with a small soccer ball on the top. They both shared a cheeky grin, seeing as they had just won the game.
They both looked so juvenile and happy.
Steve turned around to look for his best friend.
"Darren?"
"In here!" called Darren who came into view as he walked into the kitchen.
"What're you doing, Shan?" Steve sniffed at the air once and smirked, "You're making your secret pasta recipe that you won't tell me for some unknown reason, aren't you?"
His dark-haired friend looked up from a book and beamed, "Well, yes, but if the school calls and my mom answers the phone she won't get that mad because I've made dinner... Right?"
"Nice thinking, Shan. But, you know, your mom might not even say anything if you make those breadsticks and the creamy sauce to go along with it." Steve teased and leaned back against the sink and chuckled when he saw Darren roll his eyes at him.
Darren opened his mouth to respond but was interrupted by the ringing of the telephone. He hopped off his stool and looked at the caller ID.
"Is it the school, Shan?" Steve knew that it couldn't be, it was too early. Maybe it was a neighbor that had spotted them and was curious? Oh, hell.
"No... I don't know who it is. It says 'Private Number'," said Darren, shakily. No doubt thinking of the bathroom incident.
"Want me to answer?" offered Steve. Darren shook his head and answered.
"Hello?"
Steve occupied himself with poking at the boiling noodles but stopped when he heard Darren take a sharp intake of breath and grasp the counter.
"Darren? Who is it?"
Darren stared at him with wide eyes. His face was pale and he seemed to be shaking a bit. With a somewhat small voice, he said, "It's.. He's asking for you, Steve."
Steve narrowed his eyes at the phone and instantly thought of the man and turned furious quickly. He yanked the phone from Darren's hand. He hadn't meant to be forceful but he was angry. "What do you want?" asked a valiant Steve, his voice never wavering.
On the other end, he could hear slow, deep breathing then a rumbling laughter. "Yes, this is him." More laughter. There were others.
"Who are you?" Steve gripped the counter himself. He felt.. Unnerved. This was out of his league. "Were you the man in the restroom?"
"No, I am not that man. None of us are. Do not worry about who I am, Leonard. We will see each other soon." Shit.
"Look, if it's money that you want, I don't have any. I don't know what my mom has done to you, because I sure as hell haven't done anything to you, but you need to leave us the fuck alone." Steve snarled. He shut his eyes then turned away from Darren by walking towards the window before continuing, "And if you hurt Darren, I'll hunt you down and kill you myself. I wouldn't even hesitate to do so. Do you hear me?"
"We hear you and believe you, Leonard. We we will not hurt him. You will do that on your own. The reason that we contacted you was so that you could," a pause, "Familiarize yourself with fire. Good-bye."
Steve faintly heard the sound of the phone disconnecting or felt Darren prying the phone away from his hand. His eyes opened and it truly felt as though time had frozen. Everything shifted. What had once been there, a somewhat calming routine, felt like it wasn't there anymore. He had been sitting with Darren, conversing about breadsticks when the phone call came in and just like that, his life spun around. Steve felt a sense of unknowing duty now and he didn't know why. His breathing began to quicken and his eyes traveled everywhere. From the kitchen cabinets, to the toaster on the counter, then to the wide green eyes. Darren. The man said that he, Steve Leonard, would hurt Darren.
He wouldn't just, couldn't. He would never hurt Darren, his best friend, on purpose. The boy whom he practically grew up with and protected each and every time? How did this happen? Was it all slowly building up until this moment? Was there more to come?
"Steve? Steve?" He felt a pair of hands on either side of his shoulders, holding him and shaking him a bit. Steve cupped Darren's face with his hands carefully and ignored the look that Darren was giving him. He trailed his fingers along the jawline and around the corner of those lips. As he moved his fingers down to his neck, he leaned into the lush mass of dark brown hair and breathed in the scent, memorizing it, before whispering, "I'll be back later, Darren, if you want me to." He felt Darren's breathing hitch when as he lightly nipped an earlobe, before retreating.
"I want you to."
Steve nodded and he walked out of the kitchen, into the hall to grab his jacket, then finally out the door.
Hmm.