Protector

Skipping class wasn't something that concerned Leonardo. Especially not now, with everything that had been going on with Oliver and whatnot. College was the last thing on his mind. And work was the second to last thing.

Noah, however, seemed to consider these things more than his friend. After the second day of both Leo and Savannah staying cooped up in the apartment, he spoke to them. Encouraged them to go to class, to go to work as usual, because Oliver didn't need three caretakers, and besides, it could do them some good. To get out and about and do something.

"I'm on vacation, not you two," he joked, which only made his friend pout in disappointment.

"But we were supposed to hang out over your break..."

"Leonardo, we'll still do that. But right now I think you need some fresh air."

"I'm not gonna get any fresh air sitting in a classroom..."

"You know what I mean, Leo."

"I know what this is, you just want alone time with Oliver."

"...Leo, she's recovering from a getting hit by a car, please..."

It took a lot of convincing, but Noah somehow managed to succeed. It certainly helped that Savannah also contributed to the efforts given, and with both his best friend and girlfriend supporting the same idea, he couldn't argue.

So soon enough Leonardo finally decided to return to class—he had only missed a couple days, but then again so did Savannah, so this time he couldn't rely on the girl to help him catch up.Of course, there was still William. But Leo doubted he could ask him, considering the several occasions that boy begged to copy homework because he wasn't, one might say, the most diligent student.

Un-shockingly, the moment Leo walked into class that day and approached his usual seat with Savannah in tow, William reacted openly to seeing the both after their absences. At first, it was a simple hello, followed by, good to see you again. But then followed the greater concern, which skyrocketed after he laid eyes on Savannah's face.

"Holy crap, dude."

Savannah gathered these words were directed at her, so she smiled somewhat reassuringly and waved.

"What..." Now William was looking at Leo. "What happened to her?" Back to Savannah. "What happened to you??"

"Bad people," Leo answered vaguely.

"Bad people?"

"Yeah."

The memory still upset him. So Leonardo did his best to suppress it, the mental pictures of Savannah beaten, bruised, and bleeding in that alley, and took out his notebook from his book bag. But William didn't seem happy with letting the subject drop.

"Do you know who they are?" He asked, peering at Savannah's face but the girl seemed too uncomfortable to reply. "You gotta report that kind of thing to the police!"

"They took off before I found her," Leo answered again.

"Who on earth would have something against Savannah enough to beat her up like that in the first place??"

"It wasn't her fault. They wanted me, not her."

He spoke in a low, evidently pained tone of voice that silenced William. For a number of reasons. Leonardo's choice of words, though few, conveyed a darker message that didn't go over the boy's head. He could hear it, moreover detect it in Leo's expression, which he had grown accustomed to seeing solemn on a daily basis. But this was different.

"...were they...after your blood or something?"

William uttered this tentatively, sounding almost afraid the other boy would snap at him for having dared to ask. But still he waited eagerly for a response.

However Leo said nothing. And that soundless action was confirmation enough.

William, too, said nothing for the rest of the class to avoid bothering both Leonardo and Savannah any more.

And assumed this was a display of respectful distance—perhaps, at the time, it was. It was something he appreciated, something he wished more people would do, yet he ended up having to bail poor Savannah out of numerous situations of other students asking what had happened to her face.

And they, unsurprisingly, were much more obnoxious about it than William. Some even accused Leo of having been directly responsible.

Which, needless to say, didn't make either of them feel any better. But especially Leonardo, still bearing the guilt for it all.

On a positive note, performing at the Fermata Pavilion proved once again to be a great stress reliever. Being there with Savannah made it even better. Being with her, feeling more comfortable around her than he ever had before, because Leo finally knew what Savannah had spent so long hiding from him.

So they performed that night till closing, naturally receiving panicked attention from Alex, but thankfully he, like William, was respectful when requested not to ask about it. He did, however, wish Savannah a speedy recovery to which the girl replied, "Don't worry, can hardly feel them anymore. And take care of mom too. Just don't tell her what happened to me or else she'll just blame dad. That would be really stupid." She received a nod from Alex.

Leo still had his doubts. Savannah didn't mind. Although she didn't like the boy worrying, she couldn't complain Leo kissing her bruises.

Those tender kisses, soft lips pressed to her skin—to her lips, too, whenever Leo would give in to Savannah's puppy-dog eyes. It was like a dream made reality, but a dream far better than anything her mind had ever constructed while asleep.

She could live with this. With Leo's sweet and protective nature that made her feel loved, that made her feel she could let her guard down without having to worry about anything. At the same time, she didn't want to allow herself to do that at all. Letting her guard down. If anything, she felt she was the one who needed to do the protecting—and not because Leo was incapable of protecting himself, rather that Savannah believed she owed the boy her life.

So while she enjoyed Leonardo's arms around her, she kept her own even tighter around Leo.

For the time being, Oliver stayed at Leo's apartment during the day, where Noah stayed with her in case she should need anything. At night, Oliver had insisted she could go back to her own place, that she could manage on her own, but neither Leo nor Noah was comfortable with leaving her alone so soon to the accident. And so they came to the conclusion to just have Oliver stay at Leo's under she fully recovered.

The couch was comfortable enough to sleep on—more than comfortable enough, which is why Leo had slept there more often than in his bed—so it wasn't an issue. The issue he, meaning Leo, had with it was that Noah wouldn't have a place to sleep.

Noah had no complaints with sleeping on the floor. None at all. Regardless, Leo took it upon himself to go out and buy his friend a futon.

"If the futon isn't comfortable, I can go find a different one."

"It's perfect, Leo."

"Well, if you don't like the blankets, I can go get more."

"Leo, it's fine, these are more than enough."

"You're lying. I'll go get more."

"Whatever makes you happy, Leonardo..."

***

The second day of returning to classes, Leo had better prepared himself. For anyone who might approach him, or Savannah, or both of them, he guarded them both with menacing eyes and even walked into class jealously grasping Savannah's hand.

And Savannah had the same in mind. Jealously guarding Leo, her own eyes sharpening their focus and sending warning signals to anyone who might glance their way.

It was quite a sight to anyone who happened to cross their path.

Some students in their music class gossiped it was the disease Leonardo had that had spread to Savannah, a nasty attitude having infected her along with it. Others just scoffed after having accidentally made eye contact with either of them, then chose not to be bothered by it.

Then there was William. Again.

"Hey, Leo, can I talk to you, man?"

"If it's about Savannah's bruises or the fact that I'm 110% prepared to drill a hole through the wall with my eyes, I don't want to talk about it."

"Ah, no," William chuckled, a little nervous, "it's not that. I just wanted to talk to you."

"Well, I'm here. Talk."

"No, I meant more privately."

Savannah's attention peaked. She turned abruptly towards William, grabbing Leo's hand tightly. "He can't."

William furrowed his brow curiously. "Do you guys...have a date or something? 'Cus it's kind of important. Leo-"

"If he's going I'm going."

"You want to?" A small smile appeared on Will's face. "That's fine. Ooh! You guys could come to my apartment! We could have tea."

"Leo hates lavender."

"...I have other kinds?"

Leo tilted his head slightly to whisper in Savannah's ear. "It's fine, if he says it's important, I'll hear him out. But go with me."

"I will," Savannah whispered back. "Absolutely. I won't let you out of my sight, baby. William seems really nice but you know, just in case."

"Yeah."

"Uh, hello?"

"Hi."

Leo turned back around.

"So, tea at your apartment?"

A puzzled look. William nodded. "Yeah. And we can talk."

"Sounds like a plan."

"I'm joining."

"That's...fine, Savannah."

"I won't take 'no' for an answer."

"I said it's fine-"

"No buts."

"...you know what..."