Opportunity

A few days had passed since his meeting with Blue. In those past few days, Blue didn't say much, nothing more than simple good mornings, good nights, and how are you's. Although Leo, of course, did try asking questions, but they were avoided with mere apologies. And what bewildered Leonardo was that he still didn't know why Blue was apologizing.

It bothered him, as did their in-person conversation, from that silver bracelet to the topic of the black market. The mention of such a thing instilled in Leonardo a kind of anxiety he had never experienced before. Sure, he had always been paranoid of people secretly wanting to study him, but to know that there were actually people who had these sorts of intentions made him nauseous.

Don't worry, you don't have to worry about them, Blue had assured him at one point. He wished he could have rested easy at those words.

And he tried. He tried distracting himself with tv, cartoons and whatnot, whenever he had a little free time to spare. And, needless to say, he texted Noah frequently as well, as the boy's friend always helped to ease him at least somewhat.

But Noah was a busy man and couldn't text him constantly.

Late on this autumn evening, Leo sat alone on his couch, bundled up in more covers than he needed for warmth but he liked the feeling of them as he watched cartoons which surprisingly served as a good distraction from his negative thoughts.

He didn't check the time but he was sure it was close to 9 or 10 at this point.

There was a knock at the door. Despite believing he had suppressed his thoughts of Blue for the time being, his masked friend was the first thing that came to mind. With his covers still wrapped around himself, Leo crept over to the door.

"Who is it?"

"...uh, Savannah."

Leo pulled his head back in confusion. "What? What are you doing here?"

"...uhh..."

Frustrated by the delayed response, Leo opened the door and prepared to fire the girl a reprimanding look, but stopped abruptly at the sight of her.

Savannah had three bags on hand, two of which were duffel bags slung over her shoulders, the other a moderately-sized suitcase resting beside her leg. She had on the guiltiest expression, gaze avoiding Leonardo's own.

"What's with all this?" He demanded. Still, Savannah avoided his gaze, her tiny smile present, but evidently forced. "Savannah, explain yourself."

"Just curious if we could, you know, have a sleepover..."

"What?"

"...a sleepover..."

"No, I'm serious, what's your problem?"

Silence. Shameful silence.

"Savannah-"

"I lost my job and got kicked out of my apartment."

Leonardo stared, wide-eyed and in disbelief. He could see that Savannah's hair and clothes were quite damp, making Leo jump to the conclusion the girl had spent a lot of time in contemplation, possibly outside in the rain, before deciding to finally approach him. It was stupid. Stupid, cliché, and most of all Leo really didn't like how his chest hurt a little looking upon Savannah's despondent expression right now.

"Get inside."

The girl lifted her head suddenly at the invitation. "Really? You mean it-?"

"Just shut up and get moving."

A brighter, yet still guilt-stained smile tugged at Savannah's lips as she followed Leonardo into his apartment, carrying along her bags which were stuffed to their absolute max. She closed the door behind her and turned to Leo. "I owe you my life, I won't forget this, Leonardo." She dropped her bags on the floor. "I promise I won't make you regret it, I'll clean up after myself, I'll try to find a job as soon as possible until I can afford a place of my own, I'll-"

"What happened?"

The interruption didn't just put a pause in Savannah's rambling, but a complete stop. She looked down at her hands as Leo reclaimed his seat on the couch.

"Savannah," Leo said sternly, "tell me what happened. You're one of the last people I've met who I can ever imagine getting fired. Or was there some other reason? And you said you got kicked out of your apartment?"

"They didn't both happen today," Savannah said with a nervous laugh, twiddling her thumbs. "I actually got fired from my job a couple days ago, but...well, I didn't say anything. And as for getting kicked out..." She let out a deep breath, acquiring a new type of smile which almost seemed in spite of herself. "I've always had an issue with paying rent on time," she chuckled again, "and getting fired didn't really help with that. Neither does having a really cranky landlord."

Leonardo was in awe. For what felt like a solid five minutes, he stared at Savannah, not really knowing how to react to this news, until he finally managed to raise the question, "How did you get fired?"

No answer.

"Savannah, how did you—...oh."

The sight of those watery eyes cut him off. Shut him up real good, actually. At least his questions.

He didn't like not knowing things but perhaps, Leo considered, the girl had a valid reason to be upset and not want to talk about it.

"I'm sorry, Savannah, forget I asked."

Seeming to register the other had seen the approaching tears, Savannah hastily rubbed her eyes and sniffled, forcing yet another smile as she struggled still to look at Leo. "N-no, I'm the sorry one, I'm inconveniencing you, you didn't even have to let me inside, but you did, 'cause you're amazing, and-"

"Okay, okay, that's enough with that nonsense..." Sighing, Leo gestured for the girl to come towards the couch, disheartened by the immediate reaction of hesitance. "C'mon, just leave your bags there for now, I don't really care. Just sit down."

"On the couch?"

"Where else?"

"Beside you?"

"Where else?" He groaned and stood up from his comfortable seat, just to seize the teary-eyed Savannah by her forearm and drag her over to the couch. "Sit."

"I never learned that trick."

"Crack another joke and I'll kick you out of this apartment, too."

Savannah turned her head down.

Oh, my gosh, I'm such an awful person. "I'm sorry, shouldn't have said that..."

The other girl sniffled. "No, it's fine, I'm just a crybaby..."

"I never said that..."

"That's 'cus you're really nice."

"No, if I were nice I wouldn't have said what I just said."

"It's okay, 'cus you didn't mean it..."

"...do you want me to get you some tissues...?"

"...can I ask for a substitute?"

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"...like...a hug, or something..."

"...can the 'or something' be a tissue?"

A pout. She's actually pouting. How old is she?

Leonardo didn't want to. Namely because of the expectant look on Savannah's face as he now gazed into her eyes, and he could feel a blush threatening to rise on his cheeks. That being said, Leo gave in and opened his arms to hug the girl, just briefly, but it clearly made all the difference to Savannah.

"See..." Another quiet sniffle. "You are nice."

"I'm not."

"You are."

"I'm not-"

Out of nowhere Savannah took hold of Leonardo's shoulders and at about ten centimeters from his face, aggressively whispered "you are" which in turn triggered the blush the surface thanks to the closeness of both of their faces. Leonardo raised his hand just to slap the other's shoulder.

"Ah, cute, it's back-"

"You're really pushing your luck, Savannah."

"Sorry." A soft giggle. "It's just really pretty. I've mentioned, I know I have."

The purple on the boy's cheeks only deepened at this. "Well," he muttered, "please don't mention it again."

"Can't help it."

"If you don't stop staring, you're sleeping on the couch."

"Well, where else would I sleep?"

"Wait, no scratch that, the couch is my spot-" He threw out a hand to direct Savannah's attention to a door on the other side of the room. "There, you can sleep on my bed, I'll take the couch."

"Your bed?"

"Yes, I'm more accustomed to the couch and I like it better, so you can sleep in my room," Leo said firmly, "so whenever you feel yourself getting sleepy, kindly transport yourself there, okay? Savannah....hello.....?"

"Mhm."

A look of pure gratitude radiated from Savannah's now half-lidded eyes, warm and wholesome. She seemed dazed, distracted.

"...you really are amazing, Leonardo."

Again with this. "I told you enough with the nonsense, why don't you take your bags to the room?"

"I will." Her smile broadened. "And I promise I'll find a job as soon as I can so I can pay you back. I'll go job-hunting first thing tomorrow after classes."

"That's not necessary," Leo said, sighing almost in pity. "You don't...have to rush yourself. Take your time."

It was mere moments after he had uttered these words that an idea came to mind.

"Better yet," he added before Savannah could stand up fully. "Better yet...why don't you just come to the Fermata Pavilion?"

"What?" Puzzlement, followed by clear-cut shock. "Wait, for real?"

"Yeah, why not?" Leo shrugged. "You're a music major. You can sing or play or instrument I'm sure."

"I-I can, but-"

"Then it's a perfect opportunity. You'll go in tomorrow, yeah? I'll introduce you to my boss. Guaranteed, if I give you a good word he'll hire you on the spot, no audition needed. He's always looking for good performers."

Stunned. For the longest time, Savannah's doe eyes remained open and their gaze frozen in place, stuck on Leo as though they, along with her brain, were still processing the situation.The end result was another hug initiated, obviously, by Savannah, who just about tackled the other boy and thus earning herself another admonishing slap to the shoulder.

"Sorry. Just wanted to show my thanks."

"There are other ways," Leo grumbled. "Like with words."

"You're amazing."

"Okay, enough."