Cynthia, Leon- 15 ½

Haliah, Paige, Brendon- 17

Hazel-16

I Won't Let Myself Hurt You

Cynthia's blue eyes flashed as she got up from where her sisters were comforting each other, "Brendon!" She shouted across the courtyard, barreling over to the idiot who had just broken both of her sisters' hearts, "You are going to get it you jerk!" Brendon's eyes widened and he turned to run, but Cynthia was faster, a moment later Brendon was howling on the ground with his hands cupping his broken nose while Cynthia scowled at him, blood streaking her knuckles.

"Cindy!" Hazel gasped, "Why'd you break his nose?!" She asked as she helped her brother to his feet, "I get your angry, but breaking his nose? That's a little too much!"

Cynthia's blue eyes widened at the blood covering Brendon's face and the blood streaking her calloused knuckles. "I… Sorry…" She managed to stammer out before turning and racing into the woods and away from the other students.

"Cynthia!" Leon shouted after her and glared at Hazel, the glare deadly, "He deserved the broken nose Hazel! She didn't need a reprimand for defending her sisters!"

"Cyndy?" Leon called, looking for his friend and interest, Cynthia Lawson, while she did tend to use violence as a form of communicating her emotions, she wasn't a bad person, despite how much she thought she was. 'Will you ever get over your brother's death?' He wondered, he knew that she was responsible for her brother's death and that it affected her every day, but he couldn't help but wonder when she would finally get over the guilt and live her life not out of fear and caution. Out of the corner of his eyes he caught sight of her sitting in a tiny clearing full of bright and healthy grass, a tiny stream trickling nearby. Of course she was here, this was the place they, -he and Cynthia- had been going to for years when they were upset, shaken, or simply wanted a place away from everyone else. "Cyndy, there you are," he sat down on the grass in front of her, sitting cross-legged next to her.

Cynthia shoved her hands beneath her legs, pinning them against the grass as a precaution of hurting her close friend. "Hi," she murmured under her breath, "what're you doing here?"

"Comforting a friend." Leon replied before he nudged her shoulder playfully and winked at her, "who's maybe something more."

Cynthia blushed and didn't look at him, attempting to pretend that her cheeks weren't a gentle pink color at the given moment. "Well Mr. Comforter, you're welcome to stay if you want to, I'm afraid your services aren't really needed, but your presence is always welcome."

"Well I'm glad I'm welcome, but my services are needed I think." Leon said, moving so he was sitting in front of her and gently pulling her left hand out from under her, brushing the grass off of her thin hand, blood still streaked the knuckles of her dominant hand, "Brendon had it coming for him, I mean, breaking both Paige and Haliah's hearts? That's unsafe territory and he knew that. Besides, you only broke his nose and bruised his ego, you protected your sisters and didn't hurt him too badly. Of course, he'll sound like a nasally nerd for a while, but hey, that's an improvement from his normal voice." He was pleased to hear a faint chuckle from his friend and continued after he laced the fingers of his right hand with the fingers of Cynthia's left. "And you aren't the only one to have done it before," he grinned sheepishly and scratched the back of his head with his free hand, "I punched Tyler when he made our friend Bree cry, and you know how hard it is to make that bouncy ball of a girl to cry."

"Yeah, but I've killed someone Leon, that isn't controlled, that's out of control. And I can't stop it." Cynthia sighed, playing with their laced fingers, not minding the unusual contact.

"You have been getting a lot better over the years at controlling your strength Cyndy," Leon pointed out, "you just broke Brendon's nose, not his skull or anything right? He doesn't even have a concussion." He rubbed his thumb over her hand, "Not everyone is perfect Cyn, but you're pretty darn close."

"Thanks Leon."

"My pleasure Cyndy."

Cynthia looked at him for a few moments, her mind currently at ease from his words. Leon seemed to be at ease too as both of them leaned toward each other without giving it much thought a few moments later, Cynthia's blue eyes slid half closed as she got nearer to him while Leon did the same.

Just as the gap between them vanished, a robin squawked and startled them both, making them jolt apart like they had been burned.

Cynthia scooted away from him, blinking a few times and touching her lips stunned that that had even happened.

Leon was just as surprised, he knew how skittish his friend was when it came to couple like things, -one of the reasons he hadn't asked her to any of the dances for their school, nor asked her to be his girlfriend, not to mention she was also skittish around titles, she just didn't like them.- and the fact that she initiated it shocked him. He watched her for a moment, finding how stunned she was and the small giddy smile pulling at the corners of her lips, very adorable. "Do you think we could ever be in a relationship?" He asked her quietly, already guessing her answer.

"Maybe." Cynthia replied distantly, before it registered what she had just said and she stammered nervously, "I mean no… maybe… I don't know!" The teenager rambled nervously for a while before she finally exclaimed, "I can't do it! I just can't!" She scrambled to her feet and attempted to flee the scene.

"What do you mean?" Leon asked, getting up and managing to catch her by the wrist.

"I can't risk it! If I screw it up it would ruin our friendship and I'd end up hurting you! I can't! I just can't Leon!" Cynthia cried before pulling her wrist free of his grip and fleeing deeper into the woods, leaving Leon watching her disappear with a heavy heart and full of disappointment and understanding.

"I'm sorry for confusing you," Leon sighed as he watched the spot where she had disappeared, "I'll remain happy in the friend zone if it'll make you happy, Cyn, I promise. I just want to make you happy." He sighed once more before sticking his hands into his pockets and slowly starting to walk back to the school.

Cynthia stood with her back to a tree, she had heard everything that he had said, and she touched her lips again, 'I- I'm sorry Leon, but I don't want to ruin everything, even if every kiss felt like this one, I can't risk hurting you so bad that you won't be my friend anymore, I love you too much to never have you around ever again.'

Character Emails (all are gmail accounts)

Caylee and any other side character – youngcrazyteenageauthor

Cynthia – athleticsapphiresinger

Leon – athleticgoldenboy

Bree – cheerfulcuriosity

Jay – perfectgrumpytone

Holly – emeraldintelligencequeen

Fini – gingerandwhiteteenager

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