Chapter 14

After pacing around his house for what seemed like several hours, Seedos glanced at his front door for the first time since he had shut it after Storkos' visit. No, no, no, no, no, no, NO, he wasn't ready to face Leena yet. What if he upset her a lot more than he thought and she wound up crying all over the place? Seedos wouldn't know what to do if a girl cried in front of him, ESPECIALLY if it was because of something he said! The last thing he needed plaguing his mind was guilt. He needed to stay focused on his career, on his seeds, not over the guilt of making a girl cry. UGH, why were women so COMPLICATED?!?!

Seedos let out a looooooong sigh and plonked back down on his couch, lifting up his mask to rub his temples, eyes shut and teeth grinding together. Agh, he could feel a migraine coming on. Just perfect.

After Storkos had exited Seedos' house, she had shot Leena a wink and a thumbs up before soaring off towards Egg Mountain. Leena couldn't help beaming at the superheroine until she flew out of sight. She had a feeling things were going to be just fine.

She paced around her garden, the local quirky seed merchant on her mind, her confidence increasingly greatly when she remembered what he had said to her the other day.

Once Leena had gotten over the great, great embarrassment of seeing Seedos barefaced, he had told her that he preferred her the way she was before she let Leafos glitz her out. Even if he had said for her not to take that compliment the wrong way, it still made her heartbeat increase to nearly chest bursting speeds. Whether his intentions were romantic or platonic, Seedos preferred plain old regular Leena. He wasn't like Eddie Lizard, who Leena often caught wincing as he gave whatever outfit she threw on in the morning a once over. He wasn't like Petula, who always whispered intentionally loudly about how dorky Leena's frizzy bob was to whoever would listen whenever Leena just so happened to be walking by. He wasn't like any other Villager who just saw her as a plain girl who was far too clumsy and scatterbrained to garden, shaking their heads as they walked past her plot of land. Those facts made Leena sure, absolutely sure, that she was ready to confess as soon as possible.

Leena sat down in the grass, stroking the petals of a bluebell absent-mindedly, trying to think of exactly the right words to say.

"Um…Seedos…I…well…you see…I…my feelings for…well…you…they're…well…"

Leena let out a small cry of distress, burying her face in her hands. God, even her thoughts were dithery! This was going to be much harder than she thought…if it wasn't for Storkos giving Leena such a confident look before taking off for home, Leena wouldn't be willing to take such a risk. She was about to try to come up with a confession that didn't involve the words "um," "er," or "well" when she suddenly heard a familiar, slightly nasal voice behind her.

"Leena…um…do you have a minute?"

Leena was so startled that she pulled the bluebell she was stroking out of the ground. She looked over her shoulder and found herself face-to-mask with the very person she needed quite a bit more rehearsal to speak to. Her confidence faded a bit, she wasn't ready to face him yet! She had to stall him, buy herself more time to think…!

"S…Seedos! You're back! Did…did you forget something? Did I…um…miss finding one of the seeds that you dropped? I'm sorry if I did…um…" Leena sprang to her feet and snapped her gaze down to the ground, her eyes scanning the grass like very large blue spotlights.

"No, no, it's not that, I already counted them, they're all there," Seedos flicked his wrist dismissively. "I just…have something to tell you. I'm sorry about how I acted earlier…" He shoved one hand into his pocket and the other into his red pouch, instantly covering his right hand in pricks from the weed seeds. He winced, but there were much more important matters to discuss.

"R…really?" Leena straightened up and made eye contact with Seedos, letting the uprooted bluebell drop to the ground. "I have something to…um…tell you too…"

Seedos let out a small sigh; he had an idea what that "something" was. "I'm not quite done, but I suppose I could let you go first."

Leena felt her chest warm with confidence as she took a few steps forward towards Seedos. "Seedos…I…well…" It took everything in Leena's power to keep eye contact with Seedos. "I…want you to know that I…care about you. A lot."

This was exactly what Seedos feared would come out of Leena's mouth. It took everything in his power not to run away again, every muscle in his body tensing up with nervousness and his brain running rampant with confusion. Leena made a move to rest her hand on the side of Seedos' mask, but he snatched at her wrist before she got the chance.

"Look…Leena…I know how much you care about me…but…" Seedos averted his eyes away from Leena's for a brief moment, quickly releasing his grip on her wrist. "I really don't know how to respond to your feelings…I've had trouble trusting people ever since…well, you know what happened."

Every ounce of confidence rushed out of Leena's heart and she felt a little ill as her stomach twisted up. All she managed to say was a small "Oh…"

"I'm not saying I don't want anything at all to do with you, Leena," Seedos shook his head and turned his gaze towards Leena again. "I want to be your friend. You're the closest thing I've had to a friend for a long, long time."

"I…um…I think I can be…um…happy with that for the time being…" Leena couldn't help but feel a tiny bit grateful. Sure, her heart was in a million broken pieces on the ground…but she had no idea what the future held! Maybe, someday Seedos would help her piece her heart back together, much like how she helped him mend his broken mask.

Seedos couldn't help slightly smiling his infamous lopsided smile. He still had second thoughts about being able to trust this girl…but she was probably the least likely person on the Island to cause him any problems. Much to both Leena's surprise and his own, he wound up pulling her into a stiff hug that was all elbows. He meant for it to be a quick, friendly one, but Leena hung on to him much longer than he would have liked.

"Just send me an Alert whenever you need help with your garden, okay?" After Leena released him, Seedos looked down at the bluebell that Leena discarded a few minutes before. "We can't have things like this happening to your plants." He grimaced.

Leena blushed profusely. "Um…okay…thank you…you have no idea how much what you're doing means to me…"

"I have some idea, believe me," Seedos shook his head a bit, but Leena noticed that the corners of the mouth of his mask had turned up slightly. He began making his way back towards his swamp, but he paused once he reached the bridge. He glanced back at Leena over his shoulder and gave her a proper wave goodbye rather than his usual quick, dismissive, wrist flick.

Leena's heart couldn't decide whether to swell or drop down into her stomach. She sighed and sat down on a tree stump, burying her face in her hands. She was getting ready to sort her thoughts and feelings into place as best she could when her plans were interrupted by another familiar voice from behind her.

"…Leena, are you okay…?"