Chapter 5

A couple weeks had now passed and Leo hadn't given up on trying to leave, but every time he tried, it seemed Balan was everywhere and had been keeping an eye on the two teenagers. Leo had tried to slip out through the back and had run into Balan looking up at the stars outside. He even tried the basement of the theater to go out through the cellar doors, but that had proved equally unsuccessful as Balan had opened the doors right then, seeming a bit surprised to see the boy there, but saying he was working on the flower beds on that side and wondered if Leo wanted to help.

After some careful consideration and waiting a few days, the boy felt he and Emma had a chance.

"We could leave this evening," Leo said to her as they were sitting in her room.

Emma looked away, looking a bit nervous before looking up at him. "Actually, Leo...I like living here," she said softly. "I like living here with Balan, even though I stay in here mostly unless he needs help."

The blue-eyed boy could see that she really wanted to stay and he thought about it for a bit and while he didn't want to leave her, he had to remind himself that she truly had no home out there, unlike him, even though he never went to it. "Do...Do you really want to stay here?" He asked.

She nodded. "You could too," she said gently. "Balan's really nice and he hasn't hurt either of us."

Leo bit his lip, not wanting to disagree as what she said had been true, but he didn't want to agree either because he still didn't trust the maestro. "I...I need to head out," he said finally, but his voice was gentle so that the girl knew he wasn't angry with her decision. He decided he wasn't going to pull her away from a place where she seemed to feel happy. That wouldn't be fair to her.

"Leo...I'm sorry," Emma said quietly.

"For what?" He asked, cocking his head to the side. "You feel at home here and that's what you always wanted, right?"

She nodded. "Then it would be selfish of me to make you leave with me when you want to stay," he continued. "Just...be careful, okay? I don't know what Balan's game is."

"Why don't you trust him?" She asked softly.

"I have my reasons," the boy said before hugging her. "Just be careful, okay?"

She nodded and he headed out, making sure the coast was clear before going down the hallway, this time finding the door to the outside and he took a deep breath, about to open it when it opened and there stood a boy about his age and the boy smiled. "Hey, Leo!" He said with a smile.

"Um," the blue-eyed boy hummed with a confused look.

"Oh, I'm Haoyu Chang," the boy said with a smile. "We met at the party."

Leo remembered now. "You like to fly," he said, recalling what he had heard.

"Yeah," Haoyu said. "And someday, I will." He pulled a wagon inside and smiled. "Hey, want to help me build my plane? I'm having a hard time coming up with a good design."

The blue-eyed boy bit his lip, his eyes wandering over the scrap metal and hardware supplies in the wagon and he recalled when he was much younger and how he had been into building things, but that was long ago. He looked towards the door and then back at Haoyu, who was giving him a hopeful look. "It'll be fun," the green-haired boy said. "Maybe you can teach me some dance moves too? I saw you at the party and you're a cool dancer."

Leo took a deep breath before looking at Haoyu. "Okay," he said reluctantly, deciding that perhaps he could head out after helping Haoyu.

"Great!" The boy said, smiling. "And thanks. This means a lot to me."

The blue-eyed boy nodded. "So where do you want this stuff?" He asked.

"Well, my workshop's in Wonderworld," Haoyu said. "We'll have to find Balan and take the train."

Leo blinked. "Take the train?" He asked.

The green-haired boy blinked. "You've never ridden on the Wonderworld train?" He asked in surprise before smiling. "It's one of the most awesome things ever. Come on."

With that, he began pulling the wagon and the blue-eyed boy helped out by pushing the wagon from behind. This made it less heavy for both of them and they went down a few hallways before finding Balan in the main theater room where he was talking to a few of the cast members.

"Web Wrangler, do you want to do an acrobat act?" The tall being asked a spider-like being.

"Yes," she said, her eyes bright with excitement.

Pumpkin Puncher did a front flip. "Can I join her?" He asked.

"I'd love that," she said happily.

Balan smiled and nodded before nodding to a few of the others. "And your acts are set to go?" He asked.

They nodded. "Alright then. Why don't you do a few practice runs to see how it flows?"

The beings agreed and went to do so as the maestro watched before feeling a hand lightly tap his arm and he turned to find the two boys with the wagon full of things to build a plane. "Ah, I see you found some good stuff, Haoyu," he said.

"Yeah," the boy said. "Leo and I are going to build a plane and hopefully get it right."

Balan chuckled. "I'm sure you both will," he said. "You need to catch the train?"

"Yes, please," the green-haired boy said.

The maestro nodded and led them to a train platform that was behind a set of doors and he snapped his fingers, a black train coming into view. Leo couldn't help but be in awe of the train and a part of him was sort of glad that Haoyu had asked him to come along.

The two boarded the train and Balan playfully ruffled Haoyu's hair, making him laugh and playfully fend off the tall being's hand. Leo watched as he noted that the green-haired boy didn't seem to mind that really. As he was thinking, he felt a hand ruffle his hair and looked to see the maestro was smiling at him. "Have fun, Leo," he said before heading off the train and the train began to fly away.

Unable to help himself since he was curious, the blue-eyed boy gazed out the window, his eyes widening as they approached Haoyu's place in Wonderworld. It was an amazing place. "Wow," he said.

His new friend chuckled. "Yeah, it's pretty amazing," he said. "Each of us have a world like this, a world built from our dreams and hopes."

Leo looked at him. "You mean...like you're literally in your own little world?" He asked.

Haoyu laughed in amusement. "That's one way to put it," he said. "Mine's filled with everything about flying since that's what I love the most and want to fly up in the sky."

The blue-eyed boy looked at his friend. "Have you tried to build a plane before?" He asked.

"Many times," the green-haired boy said. "But I couldn't get the design right, but I've kept trying and hopefully, I'll get it right sometime."

Leo couldn't help smiling and as the train came to a stop, they hopped off with the wagon of parts and began walking down a grassy field, balloons and wind tunnels everywhere. The fifteen-year-old boy also noticed a few of the sheep that he had met were there and they seemed to be having a jolly time dancing around with the person that looked like a bat and a fox that suddenly became a box and he blinked, eyes widening when the box transformed back into a fox.

Haoyu smiled as they arrived at his shop. "Here we are," he said. "Come on inside."

The place was filled with everything they needed and the two set to work and even Leo had to admit he was excited to see if the plane they were building would fly.

He hoped it would.

Looks like Leo's made a new friend. :)

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GoldGuardian2418