My folks were always putting him down...down, down.
They say he came from the wrong side of town.
Whatcha mean when they say he came from the wrong side of town?
They told me he was bad,
But I knew he was sad.
Thats why I fell for
The leader of the pack.
We had been dating for three weeks now, going out nearly every night. Who knew that a relationship with this young man could last even that long? It was amazing, actually. Leon was even more kind and chivalrous than any of my past boyfriends. He was always on time for dates, he would hold doors open for me, he would even let me wear his leather jacket if it was cold out. What more could a girl ask for?
It was actually Leon who reminded me that I should tell my parents who I was dating. I was so used to going behind their backs for the past few weeks that I had completely forgotten what I was doing. Of course I needed to tell them, although I was frightened.
I was at the dinner table, day dreaming about Leon and our date that night when I realized it was the opportune moment to easily let the information slip.
"Mom, Dad, I have something I want to tell you," I said.
"Of course, honey. What is it?" my Mom asked.
"Well, I have a new boyfriend."
My father made a sort of bothered face, the same face he made whenever I talked about dating in front of him. I was still his little girl, in his eyes. My mother was more understanding.
"I figured as much, you being out so often. Who is it?" she asked.
"Squall Leonhart," I replied quietly. My father was calm at first, and I knew why. He did not know right away who he was by name. After a few moments of silence he practically choked on his food, my mother looked shocked.
"The gang member?" my father asked loudly, eyes wide.
"He is not in a gang!" I responded defensively.
"But he drives that motorcycle. So maybe he's not in an official gang, but he is still bad."
"Isn't he much older than you?" my mother asked, worrysome.
"He is in my grade."
"But he might hurt you, sweetie. He seems a little rough," my mom protested in a kind manner. Still, I was exasperated.
"He'll knock you up, that's what he'll do. I know that type of guy."
"Daddy! Leon's not like that!"
"Maybe he doesn't seem that way now, but you listen to me. It will happen, and then he'll leave you."
"I've been dating him for three weeks now, I know him well!" I was so annoyed.
"What about that scar on his face? He probably got that in a fight," my mom added.
"Ugh! You are both so wrong. I thought you could just be happy for me," I said angrily, though not shouting. I never shouted. I stormed from the dinner table and out the door.
I sat on the curb in front of my house, arms crossed, glaring downwards at my brown boots. Although I had not truly expected my parents to respond to the news any better, I must admit that I was not entirely prepared for it. There I sat sulking for around twenty minutes, during which time I could hear my parents arguing about my relationship inside the house.
Finally, I heard the most familiar and welcome sound of all, Leon's motorcycle. I stood to my feet and smiled as he pulled in front of me.
"You okay?" he asked.
I nodded. "It's just...my parents." I lowered my head towards the ground again, but Leon reached with his hand and gently, placing his hand under my chin, raised my face back up to look at him.
"Don't worry about them," he said. I nodded.
"I know you're right. Just...take me away from here, anywhere." I climbed on the back of his motorcyle and as soon as I tightly wrapped my arms around him, we were off. I leaned my face against his jacket, the common scent of leather relaxing me instantly, and then shifted up a little, into his scruffy brown hair. I loved those motorcycles rides, after I had gotten used to them, my braid floating behind me in the wind.
As I caressed his neck, rather unintentionally, with my nose, I felt him shudder slightly.
"You drive me crazy." I could just barely hear him say over the loud motor of the bike. I giggled quietly.
We drove like that for a very long time, during which the sun set and the moon rose. I had no sense of where we were going or even how long we had been driving for. I only thought of how wonderful it felt to spend time with this guy. Eventually, however, we slowed and came to a stop. I lept off first, smiling brightly, and Leon stepped off, kicking the stand to hold the bike up.
I could hear running water nearby. It was only then that I looked around and figured out where we were, the Ravine Trail. Only about an hour drive from my town, the Ravine Trail was a beautiful spot that I rarely visited. It was very dark, the only light was the moon and the stars, which, at least, were very bright there. I shivered suddenly, it was cold at night.
"Oh, here." Leon took off his leather jacket and put it around my arms. I pulled it around me tightly.
"Thanks." I smiled, looking up at him (he was relatively taller). I leaned against the rock wall nearby. Leon leaned next to me.
"So your parents don't approve of me then?" he questioned. "What a surprise," he added, sarcastically.
"They just don't understand. My father worries about me."
"I'm sorry. It's my fault. I know people don't really like me. It's just one of the disadvantages to being me."
"But I like you. You're really such a nice guy, I wish other people could see that."
"It doesn't matter," he looked away.
I put my hand on his face, turning it to me, and gently pressed my lips against his. Leon was such a good kisser that my legs almost turned to jelly whenever I was in the middle of one. He wrapped his arms around my waist to hold me up.
I remembered at that moment something my mom had mentioned during our fight, something that I was curious about. When our lips eventually disconnected, I stared into his eyes. I let my fingers drift across his face, along the long scar that started above his right eye and continued to below his left eye. As I did, he gently grabbed that hand and lowered it.
"How did it happen?" I whispered.
"It was a long time ago..." he began softly, but looked unsure and hurt. "I was about ten years old. My father always was rough, but one night he just snapped on my mother. I tried to stop him..." He stopped and made it clear that it was too painful to continue.
I wrapped my arms around his neck and held him close. I felt bad for even asking, for making him have to relive it. I guess it explained a lot, just that sentence. Something he had to carry with him his entire life, not just the physical scars, but the emotional scars of abuse. He was just misunderstood.
"I'm so sorry," I murmured into his ear.
"Don't worry about it..." he breathed but still leaned far into the embrace, which lasted for several minutes. It was he that finally pulled away.
"Aerith?"
"Mhmm?"
"I was wondering if you'd wear this." He took his class ring off his finger and offered it to me. I smiled brightly and nodded.
"Of course." I took it into the palm of my hand and held it tightly. I slipped it carefully into my pocket, planning to put it on a chain later.
"Great," he said quietly. "I think I love you, Flower Girl," he added. Flower Girl was his petname for me.
"And I think I love you, Leader of the Pack." I grinned and rested my head against his chest.
It was at that moment that we became official boyfriend and girlfriend. I felt blissful and delighted.
o--------------------o
A/N: Aw. I didn't get any reviews on the last chapter. That was depressing. Besides that, I really enjoy writing this story, this chapter in particular. I think Leon and Aerith have a definite chemistry. Hm. The next chapter is going to depress me further, though.
Please, please review!
