Chapter Five: Mom Meets Leo

"Chug! Chug! Chug!" Leo's face twisted from the carbonation of the Sprite as he chugged what was left of the two-liter bottle while Lily and I cheered him on. So far, the night had been pretty eventful. I smiled, remembering Leo's excitement after trying pizza rolls.

It wasn't long after he tried one that we were competing to find out who could hold the most in their mouth. Lily beat Leo by a single pizza roll, making a total of fifteen pizza rolls that fell out of her face as she started laughing. I had wished I had another bag of pizza rolls so that I could do a timed eating competition, but that thought was easily forgotten once the smell of Lily's brownie's being re-heated filled the air. I didn't know how either of them were going to be able to fit any more food in them, but Leo's eagerness to try the new foods hadn't dimmed at all.

"And done." I was pulled back into reality as Leo slammed the empty bottle on the counter and let out a large belch.

"Impressive." Lily offered him another brownie topped with ice cream and he burped once more before taking it.

"Excuse me. What is this anyway? I know I was drinking it, but I'm pretty sure I downed more air than liquid." He took a bite of brownie, and I smiled, amused.

"Like we said, it's soda," I remind him. "It's like that because it's carbonated."

Leo said something that came out mumbled and Lily laughed. I smiled at the two of them, glad they were getting along. I was worried that they might be awkward the whole night. *It's almost like when we first met him.* When we first met him? I asked myself, confused. I just met him today, and I was plenty more awkward than him.

*flashback*

I stared at my tiny hands that were connected to my arms. How weird, when did I become so small? I looked around, and everything seemed to be gigantic. There was a bucket about my size with sword handles sticking out and a large fire making the room full of smoke. I looked down at my tiny feet and stared at the dark brick underneath.

"Okay Harmony, he's coming!" I looked up as someone kneeled in front of me. Or something.

The girl had short green hair that had the same color of the seaweed I played with at the beach when Mom took me. She had sea-green eyes that sparkled as she smiled at me. What I found peculiar was the fact that her skin was purple. Not that it took away from her beauty. She had a heart-shaped face and full lips; she reminded me of my Mom, I realized.

I reached out, but due to the lack of control in my limbs, ended up smacking her eye. She laughed and the sound made me smile. It was a short moment though, because, in the next, my mouth dropped open. As the girl picked me up, she started to pick both of us up off the ground, by flying! I stared past her face as I watched her wings flutter. They reminded me of bubbles or dragonfly wings. Pretty, thin, and iridescent.

She began to hum to me and I observed the surroundings. We were in a dark room, lit only by the giant fire roaring on the wall farthest from us. The wall adjacent to me and the girl was covered in hooks holding weapons and shields. However, the wall across from us held tools, which I assumed were to be used for making such things. Smack in the middle of the wall was a giant window, giving view to not but the moon and stars at this time. My eyes fell back to the bucket I first noticed. It was next to a large table that had a couple tools scattered across it. I started to wonder how large everything actually was since I was smaller than I was used to.

"Here he is!" The girl's excited voice drew me back into what was going on right as the door behind me started to open. "Welcome back!"

Low laughter filled the room. "Well, aren't you a sight for sore eyes. And who have we here with you today?"

The girl turned me around and I met a pair of striking red eyes, one of which was slightly covered by white hair that fell out of his half-up hairstyle he was currently sporting. His white hair was long, the part that was down reaching all the way down to his lower back. He had a sharp jaw and chiseled muscle. Wow, I thought. He was giving the purple girl a heart-throbbing look of love and I squirmed, wanting to know if she noticed.

"Harmony, meet my fiancé, Leo-"

*End of flashback*

"Leo!" I blinked, realizing I was back in my kitchen. I looked to Lily to see why she had cried out when I realized her hand was covered in brownie crumbs and the brownies were smashed.

"Hey, you're the one that wanted to arm wrestle here, not me."

"You could've aimed away from the brownies."

"That would require me to move my elbow, and then you'd say I was cheating." He argued, defensively.

"Yeah, but-"

"Hey, Harmony, are you okay?" Lily turned her head to face me and Leo continued the concerned look he was giving.

"Huh? Yeah, I'm fine. I was watching you two be idiots, duh." Leo played along, giving me a small chuckle.

"If you say so."

"I vote Leo has to take out the trash," I say quickly, trying to move things along as to not draw more attention to myself. I felt weird, but I had good reason to. It was as if I had just lived through someone else's memories. Except, the warm feeling from the fire, the girl's arms around me, the smell of the smoke – they felt very real. And, the girl had called me by my name.

"Nuh-uh. Lily lost the arm wrestle. She can take it out." Lily gave me a look of shock and I nodded in agreement.

"Seems fair."

"No! What if there's something out there? It's dark." Lily protested.

"Sounds like someone is a sore loser." Leo teased.

"Hey, you ruined my brownies!"

"I'll make you something to make up for it."

"You can cook?" Lily and I both asked, surprised.

"Um, yeah. I still need to eat you know." Lily and I had asked Leo a bunch of questions about foods he had and had not had. It seems like, although he liked brownies, he'd never done any baking and had only had things like cake and pie. On the other hand, he didn't seem to know any classic junk food favorites.

"Will it be edible?"

"I can make pretty good thịt kho tàu."

"What is that?" Lily asked. Whatever it was, he had said the foreign name smoothly, as if it was something familiar.

"Caramelized pork and eggs." Leo responded. Lily gave him a weird look and then raised her eyebrows at me.

"How did you learn how to make it?" I asked, ignoring Lily.

"It's a pretty normal thing within my family. My mom used to make it and she taught me."

"That's pretty cool. Was it past down from her mom or dad too?"

"I'm not sure. I never really thought to ask since it was a common dish throughout our de-. "He coughed."I mean, neighborhood." I bit my lip, trying to think of a place where something like that was common, and that foods we mentioned weren't available.

"So, where are you from then?" Lily asked.

"Um..." Leo looked between us uncomfortably. I couldn't decide between ending his discomfort or waiting for him to answer to fill my own curiosity. I was about to end the awkward silence when I heard the door open and the jingle of my mom's keys. Lily and I perked up and quickly organized what was on the counter. Leo gave us a questioning glance.

"Harmony, honey, I'm home." I heard her slip off her shoes and Lily and I shared glances, looking back between each other and Leo. Leo paled a bit, if that was possible, and Mom entered the room.

"Hey Mom." I watched her face as she looked at Leo. She didn't seem upset, or angry, so I guess it can't be too bad.

"And who might you be?" My mom looked like she was standing there in wet socks, which I couldn't categorize as good or bad.

"I'm Leo, Mrs?"

"Miss Sweet." Mom smirked at his obvious discomfort and I wondered if they had met before.

"So, you're unmarried?" He asked, clearing his throat.

"Yes. I was engaged, but we didn't want the same things. It's all in the past now."

"But there's Adryan from the studio." I reminded her. "He's my coach. Mom met him and they kind of clicked."

Mom blushed and smiled, meanwhile Leo's face looked like he couldn't decide to be angry, relieved, or uncomfortable.

"The food not sitting well anymore?" Lily asked.

"Do you need Pepto-Bismol, Leo?" So apparently Mom and Leo weren't hitting it off as well as Lily and he did, I decide.

"No, I just realized the time. I need to head home."

"Awe, okay. We'll walk you out." I point to Lily and I.

"Girls, I have a couple questions for Leo before he leaves. You ladies can wrap the brownies in foil and get this kitchen looking clean again." Mom was offering one of her too sweet smiles and I was starting to get nervous that she knew Leo, and not in a good way. As she led Leo to the front door, Lily and I crept behind to eavesdrop. We stopped in the hallway, we could only glimpse at Leo's face, but I could tell my mom was standing in her interrogation pose.

"Why are you here Leo?"

"I don't understand what you mean, ma'am."

"Don't you ma'am me. He's your father, isn't he? Don't lie, I'm not asking because I don't know the answer. I'm giving you a chance to be honest." There was a pause before Leo answered which Lily used to send me a questioning glance. I shrugged, not knowing what she was referring too.

"It's complicated."

"Mm. I bet it is. Especially since you're older than 11." I watched as Leo grimaced and felt myself being even more confused.

"I'm sorry."

"It's not your fault, you're innocent in all of this. But I want to know why you're here. In my house."

"Your daughter invited me. I think we could be good friends."

"I don't doubt that. Fine, but one hint of bad intentions and you'll not know what hit you."

"Yes, Miss Sweet."

"And if you need a ride ever, I'll drop you off. You won't have your dad anywhere near here. Understand?"

"Yes."

"Good. Get home safely." Leo disappeared from view and Lily and I scrambled while the door opened and closed. We sat at the kitchen counter chairs and waited, our eyes stuck on the hallway, waiting. Mom walked in and sighed at our stares.

"What do you want to know?"

"How do you know Leo?" I blurted.