Suspect
It made his heart stop. His hands tensed, mind desperately trying to cling to rationality and convince him this person couldn't be trusted, that this was no more than a stupid prank to make him seem vulnerable. But deep down, Leo's instincts urged him to believe. And that never happened. Perhaps it came from the overwhelming desire not to be alone, along with knowing that no one at his college had his number besides Savannah, and he knew that Savannah would never dare give his number to one of them.
At least, he believed this. He could interrogate the girl later if he had to.
Trust no one, his inner voice whispered to him.
But I don't wanna be alone, another voice whispered even louder.
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###
if you want me to believe you, show me a picture of your face
i don't build trust that easy, "blue"
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Unknown Number
Haha! Naturally! I understand completely.
So I shall do just that!
[Attachment: 1 image]
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where on earth are you??
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Unknown Number
Hey! Now if you won't tell me where you are, then why should I give you my location?
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I suppose that's fair
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Unknown Number
Indeed it is.
So how are you doing, Leonardo Diaz?
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i'm tired
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Unknown Number
I see. Well, then, I bid you good night. We shall have to talk again soon, Leonardo Diaz.
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###
yeah...we'll see...
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Save this contact as "Blue"?
'Yes' No
Blue saved your contact as "Purple"
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Heart still beating fast, Leonardo set his phone aside again and sprawled out on the couch. If he fell asleep here, so be it. He hardly slept in his bed these days.
Although, even with how tired he felt, Leo doubted he would be able to fall asleep for a while.
Blue.
He stared at the ceiling, his chest uneasy.
Could there actually be someone out there like that?
Desperately, his heart clung to what an ideal coincidence this would be. For there to be someone like him, someone who could understand him, someone he could relate to for the first time in his entire life.
It almost seemed too ideal. But maybe, just maybe this was his lucky break after all the hell he had been through.
"Blue..."
He contemplated whether or not he should tell Noah. Without a doubt, Noah would more than likely tell him not to trust them, and in most circumstances Leo would agree with him.
Noah was protective of him. Knowing this, the part of Leo wanting "Blue" to be a friend, perhaps someone who knew more about their conditions than he did, urged him to keep it a secret for now. At least from Noah. He would tell him at some point, of course, but not now.
Savannah, on the other hand, was a different story. Leo still viewed her as suspicious.
Tomorrow they didn't have classes. It would be a perfect opportunity to interrogate her some more, just in case there was a chance this was Savannah's doing after all.
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Leo.nardo
savannah
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Not_the_desert
oh hi leo! this is unexpected
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Leo.nardo
are you busy tomorrow?
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Not_the_desert
omg
is this what i think it is
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Leo.nardo
?
it's a yes or no question
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Not_the_desert
i am not busy
we don't have classes right? or am i all mixed up again
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Leo.nardo
no classes. unless you're taking another class i don't know about. but what about work?
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Not_the_desert
i don't work till 4:30 pm
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Leo.nardo
that's fine
come over for breakfast
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Not_the_desert
WHAT REALLY???
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Leo.nardo
why did you turn your caps lock on?
don't get excited this is partially for another interrogation
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Not_the_desert
oh ;;-;; very well then
do i still get to eat breakfast with you?
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Leo.nardo
yeah sure whatever
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Not_the_desert
i'll bring pancake batter
i just picked up some after classes today
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Leo.nardo
...okay?
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Not_the_desert
what time can i come over??
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Leo.nardo
no earlier than 8 please
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Not_the_desert
absolutely! i can't wait :D
do you like fruit with your pancakes??
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Leo.nardo
yeah sometimes
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Not_the_desert
okay! i am going to the store for fruit as we speak!!
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Leo.nardo
you don't need to do that
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Not_the_desert
oh do you have fruit at your apartment?
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Leo.nardo
i don't
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Not_the_desert
to the store!!
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Leo.nardo
savannah i swear i'm gonna need to see a birth certificate from you i refuse to believe you're old enough to be in college
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Not_the_desert
i cannot hear you i am walking to the store!!
bananas or strawberries or blueberries
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Leo.nardo
wtf
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Not_the_desert
does that stand for "where're the fruits"?? because if so the answer will be in the shopping cart!!
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Leo.nardo
how am i more exhausted now tf you're magical
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Not_the_desert
that's so sweet omg i'm going to shed a cry
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Leo.nardo
...good night savannah
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Not_the_desert
good night!! i'll be at your apartment tomorrow morning with fruits and pancake mix!!
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Leo.nardo
yup...
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He breathed deeply for a moment, waited a few more minutes to see if Noah would text, then decided finally to just go to bed.
Maybe tomorrow, he thought hopefully.
***
Leo woke up to an alarm the next morning. An 8 o'clock alarm, which he had forgotten to mute the night before. It didn't matter, though, as Leo had a feeling Savannah would be showing up at his door any minute now.
He took a moment to stretch out on the couch before standing and stretching again. Then he spun around in a dazed search for where he had literally just set his phone down after turning off the alarm.
On the end table, as usual. He took it in his hand and turned on the screen.
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You have (6) new messages from Noah_bored
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It brought the slightest smile to his face. He opened the messages.
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Noah_bored
hey leo i'm sorry for not replying to you before
to be honest with you i got caught up in some things
after work yesterday i decided to go on a walk and passed by this one house
and i don't even know, leo i just got the weirdest most uncomfortable feeling when i looked at it and it's seriously been bothering me but i didn't really know how to explain it so i figured it'd be better to just wait till i calmed down again
i'm sorry i don't mean to worry you, leonardo. it's really weird even to me but please don't worry, everything's ok
more importantly, how have you been?
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Leo.nardo
i've been alright i guess
but are you sure everything's ok noah? :(
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Noah_bored
of course leo i'm sure it was just something from a dream that resembled the house so it struck me as odd, you know how bizarre our minds can work
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Leo.nardo
yeah i guess so...
still, i hope you're taking care of yourself
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Noah_bored
i am :) the same to you <3
anything interesting been going on lately?
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Leonardo stopped. He pulled his bottom lip in between his teeth, thoughts bouncing back and forth between the exposure of his blood, sketchy Savannah, and now Blue on top of it all. Noah knew none of it. And the last thing Leonardo wanted was for his best friend to stress about him more than he already was.
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Leo.nardo
not really
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Noah_bored
classes going well?
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Leo.nardo
for the most part
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Noah_bored
that's good to hear
well i gotta leave for work now so i'll talk to you later leonardo, take care <3
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Leo.nardo
bye noah <3
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He felt guilty for lying. But at the same time, he told himself that Noah had enough to deal with, he didn't need to be getting worked up over Leo who no longer lived in the neighborhood. At least that's how Leonardo felt about the situation.
Perhaps, when Noah finally got around to visiting him, Leo would tell him everything. But for now he deemed this for the best.
It was 8:23 a.m. when Leonardo heard a knock at the door. Already knowing who it would be, he called out, "it's unlocked" and surely enough not a moment later Savannah came bursting into Leo's apartment with several large, filled plastic bags slung over her arms, and an even larger smile slapped across her face.
Leonardo made a face, hurrying over to take one of the bags from Savannah before scoffing,
"What did you do, buy the grocery store last night??"
"No," Savannah chuckled. She wobbled over to the kitchen table to set down everything else. "Just the produce aisle. And some whipped topping 'cause I forgot to ask if you liked that with your pancakes. Oh, and I brought waffle batter, too. Do you have a waffle iron?"
"No??"
"That's okay. I brought mine."
"You did not."
"I did!" The girl proceeded to pull a small waffle iron out of one of the bags, holding it up triumphantly for Leo to see. "It's not one of those super cool, heavy-duty designs, but it works just as well."
He didn't even know whether or not he was surprised anymore. This was Savannah. Weird didn't begin to describe her.
"Fine, make your waffles and pancakes," Leo said, waving his hand dismissively as he headed for one of his cabinets. There, he grabbed one of the many tea boxes he kept on hand, then paused before asking reluctantly, "What kind of tea do you drink? Or do you not drink tea?"
"Green!" Savannah chimed without missing a beat. "Or lavender. Lavender tea is good, too, I'll take either."
I hate lavender. "Green it is."
And so they both got to their own little tasks, Leonardo quietly and peacefully making two cups of tea as Savannah began her furious making of both waffles and pancakes. And eggs, too, as she elected to treat this kitchen as though it was her own and help herself to the cooking pans and Leonardo's Grade A egg supply.
"I'll pay you back," the girl insisted, cracking two eggs into the pan simultaneously. "I just figured I'd break 'em on the way here if I brought my own, ya know?"
"How much food do you eat in the morning??"
"Lots." Savannah beamed. "I work out enough to burn it off, but it makes me even hungrier. It's a never ending cycle."
"You work out?"
"Yeah, wanna feel my muscles?"
Leo hadn't expected the response, and regrettably, the boy felt his cheeks grow warm as he sternly turned down the offer.
"Absolutely not," he scoffed, looking away in panic. "Honestly, what in the world is wrong with you..."
Savannah stared. Forgetting entirely about the eggs she had cooking in the frying pan, she fixed her eyes on Leo's face, those cheeks and the tip of his nose tinted in a beautiful, light shade of purple. Like fairy dust.
Leo felt her staring. And that only deepened the blush which in turn made Savannah's heart flutter even more.
"If you had freckles, your face would look like a galaxy..."
A somewhat absentmindedly spoken thought; however, Savannah didn't appear to have any intention of covering it up, but rather continued to observe the color on Leo's cheeks like it was the eighth wonder of the world.
"Stop...staring..."
"...but it's so–"
"Weird, it's weird, I'm sure I'm completely purple now, aren't I?" He groaned and shielded his face, angry and flustered at the same time, but perhaps more so embarrassed by how openly entranced Savannah appeared to be at the sight of it.
"No, Leo, it really is pretty, I mean it." A dreamy sigh. The color deepened, as if triggered by it. "Beautiful. Absolutely stunning."
"Pay...pay attention to the eggs you're cooking, you nitwit."
"Eggs?" She snapped back into focus. "Oh! Right, eggs. I can turn off the stove until your blush goes away."
"W-what?"
"I'm just teasing," Savannah said, although she would have loved to stare at Leo for longer if she weren't afraid of creeping him out. "But really, though, you're...so pretty..."
She could have gone into more detail, would have, too, certainly, but again, she held back because of her fear of making Leo any more uncomfortable. So instead the girl went back to making breakfast, and Leonardo went back to making tea. The latter's task didn't take long at all, but then again neither did Savannah's, as the girl seemed quite used to preparing these simple recipes.
In due time everything was prepared and set out on the table. Savannah, for one, still couldn't believe Leo had been the one to invite her and that she was actually here, able to enjoy this small but happy occasion with him.
Well, mostly happy. She didn't quite forget the mentioning of an interrogation.
Halfway through her first pancake and Leo finally spoke up about it.
"You're Blue, aren't you, Savannah?"
An accusation. Leonardo zeroed in on her eyes. Savannah furrowed her brow.
"Blue? I wouldn't say I'm blue. In a good mood actually," she chirped. "Pancakes turned out great, I'm having breakfast with someone for a change, I-"
"You know what I mean, Savannah."
She didn't. Leonardo could see that she didn't. Either that, or again, the girl was an incredibly good actor.
"Tell me, Savannah, do you recognize this picture?"
He took out his phone and pulled up the picture that Blue had sent him. And before Savannah even looked at it, Leo trained his gaze on the girl's eyes to detect even the slightest reaction. But there was nothing.
Savannah squinted at the picture. "No," she said, glancing at Leo. "Should I? Is she in our music class?"
Leo didn't want to be fooled. But truly, he didn't sense any sort of involuntary reaction that should have been triggered by the sight of the familiar face.
On top of that, seconds after showing Savannah the picture, Leo received a text.
From Blue.
So it's not Savannah.
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Blue
Good morning, Leonardo Diaz! I hope you are doing well this morning.
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"Is everything okay, Leo?"
Maybe Savannah wasn't as sketchy as Leo believed. Maybe she was just a curious little weirdo.
Leo set his phone down on the kitchen table.
"Everything's fine..."