FOR FRICK'S SAKE. Guys, I'm so sorry I haven't updated. But in my defense, I had this chapter done a month ago but it was crap quality so I rewrote it. I spent a huge amount of time making this chapter the best I could. I still don't think it's good, but when do I ever think my writing is good? Anyways, I'm sick today so I spent all day determined as frick to get this chapter done. And I know this chapter is a almost a thousand words shorter than last chapter but quality or quantity, right?
I'm going to stop rambling now... Heh.
Enjoy c:
P.S. Oh, and prepare to die from CUTENESS.
P.P.S. Holy crap, thank you so much for 100 favorites and 218 reviews. I've literally been screaming nonstop for the past month. You guys are the best readers anyone could ask for. I love you lots. Hugs all around. *Hugs*
Welcome to Anonymous Love! Here, you can vent your feelings and ask for advice on your relationships whether it's dealing with something current, ending the romance or beginning it. One more thing: On this site, don't expect an answer you want to hear. The truth hurts sometimes. Ask away!
Q&A with Anonymous Love
Q: I have a problem. There's this guy. And, well, he's liked me since third grade – we're now in eleventh – and he won't give up on me! I like him as a friend, I really do, but he needs to move on. He constantly texts me, yet he never talks to me in person. He's always talking about me with his friends, who are also my friends, yet he still can't talk to me face to face. At first I thought it was cute how shy he was, but now I just want him to leave! I don't think he actually likes me anymore either, I feel like because he liked me for so long, he feels like he still does need to like me. Seriously, what should I do, Anonymous Love?
~Help Me Get Rid of Him
A: Hey there, Help Me Get Rid of Him. Sounds tough. And like a pain. If you don't like him, tell him straight up. And if he still won't leave you alone, make a point of it. You know, talk to your mutual friends about how you DON'T like him. The word will get back to him eventually. Ah, the wonders of gossip. Hope this helped and good luck getting rid of him.
~Anonymous Love~
It was three in the morning and Leaf was hopping around her bedroom, trying to slip on her third layer of socks. She already had on a pair of thick sweats, a long sleeve shirt, a hoody, and a beanie on her head. Still, the house was absolutely freezing.
Currently, it was the middle of November, only two days away from Thanksgiving, and the cold weather wasn't showing the town any mercy. Instead, it was full on punching them in the face, laughing at how unbearably cold it made the people. Still, that wasn't to say Leaf didn't like the cold weather. Winter was actually her favorite season. What wasn't there to love about snow, homey-smelling candles, holiday drinks, and – hello – Christmas? You just had to love winter.
That still didn't explain exactly why Leaf was up in the early hours of the morning/late hours of the night, though.
The brunette couldn't sleep, so instead of tossing and turning for hours on end, she decided to be productive with her time. Well, if productive was having the room illuminated by the light from your laptop screen as you carefully deciphered unanswered questions from your PM box, also making a list of pros and cons from said questions from said PM box from previous assumptions of what the said questions from the said PM box meant. Then, yes, Leaf was being very productive.
At the moment, Leaf had her laptop balanced on her shins as she had a notebook placed in her lap, a pen in her hand. She was actually making a pros and cons list. Which was just plain weird.
"If my assumptions are right and this is Gary," Leaf murmured to herself, chewing on the end of the pen a little, "then I need to do something. I – I do like him, don't I? Holy shit, I like him," the brunette announced out loud, almost throwing her computer in the air from the urge to stand up.
This was the first time she'd ever really thought of it, really. Yeah, she knew she blushed when he would hug her or hold her hand or flirt with her, but she normally denied it. But maybe she was right, and she did like him.
But (there was always that "but"), what if the person asking the questions wasn't Gary and it was just a random guy looking for a someone to answer his questions? It was completely plausible. Or, even worse, if it was Gary, what would happen if he liked her now but he stopped liking her when Leaf began to really like him – this was completely plausible, too.
Leaf groaned, shutting the laptop and tossing it to the side. And this is why she can't have a crush on Gary – everything could go wrong.
Looking at the clock, the dorky teen saw it was a quarter past three.
"Time to hit the hay," she said under her breath, trudging to her bed and falling asleep as soon as she hit the mattress.
The sun coming through her curtains was what woke Leaf up the next morning.
She groaned, rolling over so her face was buried in her pillows. Cursing the world, the brunette begrudgingly got out of her bed and got ready for the school day. As she left her room, she could've sworn her bed was crying out to her, "Leaf, don't leave! Come back to the warm and safe confides of your soft and comfy bed!"
"Stay strong, Leaf," she muttered, leaving her room with a dejected sigh. How pessimistic.
Normally, Leaf would go straight out the door and head to school, but today, something on the fridge caught her eye. It was a bright blue sticky note that had the familiar penmanship of Felicity on it. With a sudden feeling of hope, Leaf went to enthusiastically pluck the note from the door. Immediately, a sad look washed over her face.
"I'll be gone for a little over a week. Stay safe," Leaf whispered, narrowing her eyes and crumpling the paper square in a ball, throwing it at the wall. "Stay safe my ass."
On her way out the door, Leaf wasn't surprised to see Gary turning the corner onto her street. She had to stop the smile from taking over her face.
"Gary," she acknowledged, walking up to him. The two met at the end of her driveway and Leaf tilted her head up to maintain eye contact with him.
"Leaf," he replied, a small smirk on his lips. "Come on." With that, he took her hand in his and they began their daily walk to the school.
After a couple seconds of silence, Leaf asked a question on a topic she wanted to steer clear of. "What are you doing for Thanksgiving?" she asked, trying to come off as nonchalant. Unconsciously, Leaf tightened her grip on Gary's hand. The gesture didn't go past him.
"Well, me and Gramps usually just stay home and order pizza. Then, we'll just hang out the rest of the afternoon and start putting up all the Christmas decorations. It's not anything too special," the athlete explained, shrugging.
"Sounds nice," Leaf murmured, tucking a piece of her hair back under her hat.
Gary stared down at her, slowing his pace down. "You?"
The brunette girl stopped in her tracks. "Uh, I don't know yet. I'm sure me and my mom will think of something."
"I'm sure you will." Without thinking about it twice, Gary knew she wasn't telling the truth. But he didn't feel close enough to ask her about such personal things yet. So, he let it go and the rest of the walk to school was filled with him attempting to flirt with her and saying arrogant things to make her laugh at him. And it worked.
The two were actually having such a good time just goofing off, when they got to school, they didn't separate like they normally did. Plus, they kept their hands held the entire time they walked through the school, not caring what other people assumed (Yes, another step in the relationship has been achieved).
And as the two entered their classroom, they were oblivious of three people watching them.
Across the hallway, Valerie stood with her arms crossed, an ugly scowl on her face as she watched the dorkiest dork (dork-ception?) walking hand-in-hand with her long-time crush and the most attractive athlete in the school – aside from Drew – Gary Oak. With a huff, the red-headed girl turned on her heel and vowed she would take Leaf Green down.
The other two watching were watching for an entirely different reason. May and Drew had seen Gary and Leaf together and had been watching Leaf for those two minutes they were following her, wondering if Felicity had told her what happened. Leaf's best friends knew why the drunk parent had left and felt like it came to that time where Leaf needed to know what was going on – it was her right.
"We have to tell her," Drew spoke up as he and May walked away.
The blue-eyed girl nodded. "Agreed. We need to talk to her about us, too, and explain why we've been shitty friends."
"Agreed," Drew mimicked her.
"Today?"
"Today."
~Anonymous Love~
By the time lunch rolled around, Leaf was far from hungry, so she decided to venture to the school's library and pluck a random book off the shelf filled with romance books. Beatle Meets Destiny was the book Leaf had her nose buried in as she sat in the corner of the library, shielded from the few students that were in there. She flipped through the pages quickly, already falling in love with the quirky book. She was so absorbed in it, she didn't notice when two people approached her, sitting on the other couch in the isolated corner she was in.
"Hey."
Leaf looked up in somewhat surprise, even more so when she saw the people in front of her were none other than May and Drew.
"Oh," Leaf said, setting her book down. "Hey."
"We wanted to talk to you but you weren't in the lunchroom or outside or in a classroom, so we figured you'd be in the library," May said with a shrug and a smile.
Drew smirked. "It's the habitat of all nerds."
Leaf couldn't stop the slight smile on her lips at the familiar teasing of her best friend. God, it had been way too long since they've talked. "Shut up."
"Anyway," May interrupted, glaring at Drew, "we just really need to talk to you."
"About?" Observing both of her friends' postures, Leaf noticed they were both tense. May was wringing her hands as well, staring at the ground a lot.
"I mean, haven't you been wondering why we haven't been, you know, good friends lately?" May asked, tilting her head slightly.
Leaf placed her elbow on the arm of the couch, resting her chin in the palm of her hand. "At first I was. But then I thought about it and talked to Gary about it. Surprisingly, his advice isn't half bad," Leaf murmured, mostly to herself. Taking a slight breath, she met the eyes of her friends. "He told me there was no way a friendship like ours could be broken. And that you needed time. And I'm okay with that. Whatever's bothering you guys . . . I mean, I'd like to know, but I'll let you sort it out first before telling me. Whenever that time comes."
"We haven't told you because we're more bothered on how you might react. We don't want to worry you," Drew admitted, shaking his head, "but I guess we've already done enough of that, right?"
Leaf gave a small laugh. "Only slightly."
"It's not sorted out either. But honestly, we shouldn't know. It should be you that's known this since the beginning," May added. "The only reason we know is because of Felicity."
"Mom?" Leaf couldn't deny it, that piece of information caught her off guard.
"Yeah," the green-haired male said.
"She told us about a month or so ago."
Leaf bit her lip. "So she told you whatever this is before everything started going downhill?"
"Yeah," Drew repeated.
"But why . . . why wouldn't she have told me? Why did she tell you?" Even though she was trying to not sound hostile or bitter, she couldn't help it. That's what Leaf felt like at the moment.
May shook her head. "She said she didn't want you to know. For some reason, she thought it would protect you. But Leaf, we've felt awful not telling you this, so we just really want to tell you."
Without warning, Leaf stood up. "Can you tell me some other time? I just – I don't know if I want to hear what it is right now."
Drew grabbed her wrist. "Leaf, this is important."
"Shut up," she said sharply, surprising May and Drew. "If it was so important, you should have told me the second my mom said anything. Just leave me alone for now – you've done a great job of it so far."
Without another word, Leaf pulled her wrist free of Drew's hold and walked out of the library. Her change in moods surprised herself and she immediately felt bad for snapping at May and Drew. Obviously, they wanted to tell her and they were going to – but Leaf stopped them. But just hearing that it was her own mom who told her friends whatever this important piece of information was made Leaf's blood boil. Why were those three allowed to keep a secret and avoid Leaf like she was nothing? It didn't seem fair.
Not looking where she was going, Leaf let out a sound of surprise when she ran into another body. When that person caught her arm to keep her from falling, Leaf knew who it was. And that surprised her – that she could tell who this person was from just a touch.
"Watch where you're going, bookworm," Gary said with a teasing smile. His hand didn't move from her arm. But Leaf didn't care.
"Sorry," she apologized, her voice a lot quieter than normal.
Noticing the difference in the girl in front of him, Gary raised a brow. "Hey, you okay? You look pissed."
Running a hand through her hair, Leaf grabbed Gary's hand, tugging him through the hallways with her. When they got to an isolated one, she leaned up against some lockers, the brunette male doing the same.
"I need advice," she confessed, pulling her sleeves over her hands.
Gary crossed his arm. "Sure."
"What would you do if your two best friends have been ignoring you just because they were hiding something from you? And what they were hiding was told to them by your parent who had also been ignoring you? Would you be mad at them?" she asked.
Looking into her eyes, all Gary could find was pure confusion and sincerity. Leaf really had no idea what to think, and the fact she was seeking out his help made his heart speed up.
"Well," he began, "I've never been in that kind of situation. But I think I'd hear out my best friends and figure out what they've been hiding. Then I'd talk it out with my parent. Oh, and then I'd also hug a really attractive baseball player standing in front of me and thank him for being so amazingly awesome."
Leaf couldn't help but to laugh at him. "You are so extremely cocky and I kind of hate you." Nonetheless, the brunette walked the couple steps to close the space between them and wrapped her arms around his torso, laying her forehead on his shoulder.
"Yeah, I'm sure you really hate me," he replied, his own arms falling around her body, pulling her unconsciously closer and resting his chin on her head.
The two were so lost in their own little wonderland, they sound of the bell signaling the end of lunch a few minutes later, startled each of them as they jumped and separated. Leaf tugged at the ends of her hair, stealing a side glance at Gary. He gave her a small and crooked smile and she gave one right back at him.
"Class?" he suggested, nodding his head in the direction down the hallway.
"Do we have a choice?" She walked next to him, suddenly feeling thankful for having him.
~Anonymous Love~
The day was over and Leaf was in a good mood for two reasons. One of them being she had her internship after school today and she absolutely loved working in the mini lab Professor Oak had in his basement. Another being that this was the last day of school and Leaf was now on Thanksgiving break for five days. Ah, the joys of being off school.
Gary walked beside Leaf as they descended the school steps, teasing her and laughing as he took the light punches to his arms. But the two were stopped when they heard the voices of May and Drew. Leaf took a deep breath before turning around.
"Hey," she greeted. "Guys, I'm sorry for earlier."
May shook her head. "It's fine. We're the ones that are sorry."
Leaf shrugged. "It's okay. But do you think we could talk later? I have to go to my internship today. Maybe tomorrow?"
"Internship?" Drew asked.
"Oh," Leaf said in realization. "I guess I never said anything. I have one with Gary's Grandpa, Professor Oak. I work with lab stuff and I really like it."
"Ah, that's very Leaf-esque of you," Drew commented with a smirk.
Leaf stuck her tongue out at him. "We'll talk tomorrow, okay?"
With that, Leaf looked up at Gary and they walked off. As soon as they were off school ground, the brunette girl sighed a sigh of relief.
"Are you really that happy to be away from them?" Gary asked with an eyebrow raised.
"Not exactly," she answered. "I just feel so weird. It's like I can't even meet their eyes completely. What if we're not as good of friends as we used to be?"
"Just give it time," the athlete suggested, shrugging his shoulders. "Whatever is going on between you three, they obviously still care about you a lot and they're worried and stuff. I wouldn't worry about it."
Leaf laughed. "This isn't how it works."
"What are you going on about?"
"Hello? You, as the jock of the story, aren't supposed to be smart and helpful and give good advice with just a hint of cocky and arrogance. It's supposed to be switched," she said with a completely serious face.
"Are you insulting me? Or is that some weird form of a compliment?" he asked, staring at her weirdly.
"Take it how you like."
"So basically, you're telling me you want me to be a total ass right? I mean, that's not a problem for me, but I was beginning to think you liked me. Especially since you hate people and all. I guess our friendship is just a lie then," Gary said.
Laughing, the nerdy girl replied with, "No, I don't want you to be a total ass. It's just that you've changed a lot since we've been friends. I guess I probably have too, though."
"Ah, but how do you know I changed? Maybe this is what I'm really like and you're just the only one who can see it. And maybe it's vice versa with you, too."
Leaf stopped. "You're freaking me out with your right-ness crap."
He laughed, grabbing her hand. "Come on, or you'll be late."
After annoying Leaf for two hours by sitting on the counter and asking her a constant stream of questions, Gary was satisfied when he saw he take off her goggles and lab coat, watching as she washed her hands.
"You're finally done," he groaned.
Leaf shot him an annoyed glare. "Who said you had to be here anyways? Don't you have homework?"
The boy in question rolled his eyes. "Actually, your highness, I don't. And I won't for the next five days. Screw school."
Shaking her head, Leaf turned off the faucet, flicking water at Gary before drying her hands off and pulling her messenger bag over her head, resting the strap on her shoulder.
"You're hopeless. With or without my tutoring," she said.
"Ouch."
She stuck her tongue out at him, racing up the stairs to talk to Professor Oak and hand in all the data she collected before she could leave. As he always did, Gary waited outside his grandfather's office so he could walk Leaf home.
As he waited, he began thinking of when they were walking to school today. Leaf looked really sad when she'd asked him about his Thanksgiving plans. And Gary knew about her mom. Was Leaf going to be alone on that day?
At that moment, the door opened and Leaf came out. "Are you walking me home again? You don't have to."
Gary shrugged. "I always do. Besides, you shouldn't be complaining – now you get to spend more time with me."
"Oh, shut up," she commented, walking out the front door with him. She held her hand out, a small wave of butterflies in her stomach as he took it. It left her wondering, as it always did, what it was between them. It should be obvious, but Leaf wasn't one to take on her feelings head-on. However, denying her feelings or not, the brunette threaded her fingers through his and didn't move away when his arm brushed hers.
"So," Gary spoke up after a couple minutes, "will you be one hundred percent honest with me for a second?"
Leaf's heart stopped. "Well, it depends. What do you want to know?"
"Do you actually have plans over the holiday?"
"No." Leaf stared straight ahead, not letting any kind of emotion show on her face.
"Doesn't that bother you?" Gary asked, staring down at her. She shrugged. "Why don't you celebrate with May or Drew then?"
Leaf shook her head. "That wouldn't work. While I love them and their families, it'd probably make me feel worse. I mean, they both have a mom and a dad and a sibling. What I've always wanted."
The male next to her remained quiet for a moment before speaking up. "Then why don't you come to my house?"
She stopped walking. "Are you serious?"
"Well, yeah," he said, turning around so he was face-to-face with her. "Why wouldn't I be?"
"Gary, I can't."
"Why not? My family definitely isn't perfect. I don't have a mom or dad," he finished with a tiny shrug.
Leaf sucked in a breath. "Gary, when I said that May and Drew had perfect families I wasn't meaning to say–"
He shook her off with a reassuring smile. "I know you weren't thinking that. But I'm not letting you sit at home alone to eat Ramen and sit on your laptop during Thanksgiving."
"Pizza isn't much better," she pointed out, making Gary laugh.
"You're right; but at least you'll be with someone. Besides, wouldn't two imperfect situations make something perfect?"
Right there.
Leaf wanted to kiss him as soon as the words came out of his mouth. But she stopped herself, not wanting him to hate her if she did.
Brushing the feeling off, Leaf only nodded with a smile. "I guess we'll have to see about that, huh?"
"I guess we will." Gary kicked the back of her knee, making her leg buckle underneath her for a second. "Come on, bookworm, let's go before it gets darker and colder."
Glaring at him Leaf complied nonetheless and let him tug on her hand. The rest of the walk was spent with his normal teasing, making Leaf feel comforted for some reason. She loved how one second he could be caring and nice and kind and wise and the next, he could be a complete arrogant idiot.
When they arrived on Leaf's porch, she spun on her heels so she was facing Gary.
"Thanks," she said, pressing her lips together, feeling nervous all of a sudden. Making a decision, she raised her heels off the ground and placed a kiss on his cheek for the third time.
Gary shook his head, quickly catching Leaf's face between his hands. Not knowing if it would make the girl in front of him mad, he avoided kissing her mouth, but instead gave her a kiss on her nose. He smirked, feeling her cheeks burn under his hands.
"No need to thank me. I am just an asshole aren't I?" He smirked at her.
Leaf bit her lip, trying to slow her heart. "Well, you shouldn't be wasting your time on me either since I'm just a slut, right?"
His hand slid to the back of her head and down her hair. "Nah, you're way more than that. You're a whore."
"Yeah, an asshole is an insult to you, huh? You're definitely a bastard."
They both laughed, before stepping away from each other.
"I'll see you on Thursday. I'll pick you up at ten," Gary said, beginning to walk away.
Leaf nodded, placing a fisted hand on her heart. God, it was beating fast.
As Gary walked away and Leaf went inside her house, they each had the exact same words running through their head.
Leaf slumped against her door thinking, I really should've just kissed him.
And once Gary arrived back at his home, he went straight to his room and sat on his bed, staring at his wall. Running a hand over his face, he groaned. I really should've just kissed her.
Am I the only one squealing right now? :o
Okay, so a lot of information was given here, and even more will be in the next chapter so hold on to your pantaloons c; But for real, I've mapped out the next chapter and there is plenty of fluff and drama and UNF it'll be great... hopefully.
But guys, I can't believe the year is almost over! The days following Christmas have flown by like hecky. But maybe that's because of all my anime watching and manga reading... whoops. But S/O to my grandma and mommy for getting me the OHSHC anime and sailor moon manga. You're the bomb diggity.
What'd you guys get for Christmas? Leave it in a review. OH AND ONE LAST THING BEFORE I GO:
PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE read Under the Never Sky by Veronica Rossi. It is such an underrated series and it's the best I've read. For example, I LOVE the Hunger Games and this series is about ten thousand times better. The third book doesn't come out till next year but I've already read it thanks to my librarian friend and, wow, it's amazing. So please read it!
Sorry for this pointless rambling. I really do hope you like this chapter. I feel like every chapter just sucks more and more :c
I love you all, have a great day/night!
-ImperfectWonderland