Chapter 3 A Great Friend

"I don't know, guys, but she's something. She keeps fascinating me," Leo said dreamily.

"Bro, that girl's fine as hell. Damn right, she's something," Daniel said in affirmation.

The next scene starts at a bar where Greg and Leo go out during the weekend to unwind and relax a bit before the dreaded Monday comes.

"Have you written your apology letter to the Dean?" Greg asked, drunk Leo in worry.

"Well, Greg, my dear friend, unlike you, I'm capable of doing two things simultaneously," Leo said while chugging down some beer.

"Yes, drinking and digging your own grave," Greg added.

Leo laughed. "That's cute. Really cute. I take it all back, all I said to you when we first met because right now, if you had tits, I'd marry you," Leo said in laughter.

"Let's get this right, you long for the soul and humor of a man, but the breasts of a woman?" Greg said teasingly.

"What can I say? I love tits," Leo said, almost falling from laughter.

"Easy tiger. You're so drunk," Greg smirked.

"And you're so dead," Leo said.

"What the hell are you talking about?" Greg asked in confusion.

"Your sister, that's what I'm talking about," Leo said while giving Greg his drink.

"I still don't understand," said the confused Greg.

"I think I see her coming your way. Sucks to be you right now, doesn't it?" said Leo before leaving.

Greg looked back and saw his sister approaching, and when he turned around, he couldn't find Leo anywhere.

"Right, in addition to you drinking, you're also smoking?" Beatrice, his sister, asked while giving him a stern look.

"Smoking? Drinking? What the hell are you talking about?" Greg asked while laughing wryly.

"I'm talking about this," she said as she brought out a pack of cigarettes from his shirt pocket.

"Damn Lloyd, he must have slipped it in," Greg said in nervy chuckles.

"Yeah, right," she said in rolled eyes "go ahead and blame it on your imaginary friend," she added.

"Leo's not imaginary. He was the one sitting right here with these. Matter of fact, he saw you and then alarmed me," he said while giving her the drink.

Immediately the drink got to her palm; she started gulping.

"What the fuck?" astonished Greg asked as he took it away from her. "What the hell are you doing?"

"Drinking," she replied.

"I know, but why," he asked his sister.

"You gave it to me," she said while scoffing.

"I didn't say drink it," he added in frustration.

"You didn't say not to drink it either," she said with folded arms.

"Since when did you start drinking?" he asked, concerned.

"So I'm not allowed to drink, but you are?" she said, once more giving him a stern look.

"I'm older than you are," he said with wide eyes.

"Just a year," she said and took back the drink.

"Don't drink that," he said as he took it back. "lord only knows what he put in there; I don't want you lying wasted in my room throwing up everywhere. If you must drink, let's get ours," he said as they went to purchase some drinks.

"So why are you here?" he finally asked.

"Dad said to check on you," she replied.

"He could have just called," He said, looking at her intensely.

"I guess he did, a couple of times, but you didn't answer or something," she said in shrugs.

"I haven't seen any missed calls. Spill it, what are you doing here?" he urged.

"Don't give me that look," she said, looking away.

Then Leo joined them.

"Hello, folks," he said with a grin.

"So the black sheep returns," Greg said with folded arms.

"I'll take that, thank you," Leo said while retrieving his drink from Greg.

"So there was a Leo, after all. Hy Leo, I'm Beatrice," she said while extending her hands.

"Oh, I know who you are," he said while finishing his drink.

"You do?" she asked, amazed.

"Yeah. My boy over here talks about you all a lot, pictures and shit," he said while finally shaking her hands. "It's so lovely to meet you in person finally," he added.

"You see, Greg, that's how to be a gentleman," she said, turning to her brother.

Greg and Leo laughed hard before Leo finally said, "sorry I reek of booze, Beatrice, I'm having a bad day."

"No, sweetheart, don't sweat it; we all have bad days," she added with a raised glass.

The next scene starts with a knock on Shea's door; she opens it, shocked to see Leo.

"Leo? What the hell?" she asked in confusion.

Leo came in whistling, clearly amazed. "Do you really live here? I thought I must have gotten the wrong address. Good heavens, how do you even afford this place?" he asked.

"I don't. What the hell are you doing here, Leo?" she asked fully this time.

"Oh, I almost forgot, rich dad," he pointed out while sitting. "Well, don't just stand there, attend to the visitor, get me something to drink and eat. Come on, don't be mean," he added in a grin.

She smiled while sitting beside him and said, "I would have, but there's no time for that; my dad would walk in at any moment; you shouldn't be found here when he does."

"Well, I haven't seen you in school for a while; I was worried," he said.

"Aww, that's adorable," she confessed.

"I just wanted to be sure you were alright," he said while standing up. "Right, since that's done, I'd be on my way now," he said, going towards the door.

"There was a wedding in the family, that's why I wasn't available. I was the maid of honor," she explained.

"Oh," he said, smiling mischievously, "does that mean in a few years from now it'd be your turn?" he asked.

"Ha ha ha, so funny. Stick around that long in my life and find out for yourself," she said.

"I wasn't even planning on leaving Signora," he said shyly, flashing her his most expensive smile.

"I'll be in school tomorrow, Leo, and I appreciate the concern," she said in a blush.

The next scene was in the cafeteria, over at the girls' table.

"So...do you have feelings for Leo? We've meant to ask," Rose enquired.

"Rumour has it that the black boy has found comfort in your arms," Tracy added.

"Well...I wouldn't put it like that. Leo is..." Shea said while looking over at him. "He has this...you know?" she said.

"Huh?" Rose asked.

"Nah... probably not," Shea concluded.

"Probably not what woman? You're leaving us in blanks here," Rose asked in frustration.

"I don't have feelings for him," Shea affirmed.

"Oh," said Emilia, clearly disappointed.

"What were you hoping to hear," Shea asked.

"The obvious," Tracy said.

"Urgh. Nah," Shea said while shaking her head.

"Not even a little?" Emilia further asked.

"Nope. Don't get me wrong, he's calm and everything, but he's not my type." Shea said.

"So, what is your type?" Rose asked.

"I don't have a type," Shea replied.

"But you just said..." Rose went on.

"Mmmmmmmmm. I've been hurt a lot in love, Rose, you know this," Shea said bluntly, looking into the distance.

At the boys' table.

"Shea looks sad," Leo pointed out.

"This is your chance. Go over there, make us all proud, homeboy." Greg urged.

As Leo walked towards Shea, every step he took felt like an eternity. He was approaching his destination, but his brain told him what he was already suspicious of; he wasn't getting any closer to Shea's heart, and that sucked.

"Hello, ladies," he greeted politely.

"Careful boo, don't create the habit of always taking her away from us," Emilia cautioned Leo.

"Oh no, it's nothing like that. I noticed she looked sad and moody today; that's why I'm here," he replied.

"Come here, Leo, sit," Rose called, and he went over. "Shea is having a hard time opening up to this guy she thinks she might have a crush on," Rose spoke out.

"Oh," Leo said, looking down, knowing it wasn't him.

"What the fuck are you doing" Emilia warned.

"Throwing caution to the wind, I guess," Rose retorted.

"Rose..." Shea called, looking at her with questioning eyes.

"Hush ladies, I'm trying to have a conversation with our dear friend Leo" Rose called out. "So Leo, you're a guy and also Shea's friend. What do you suggest she should do? Now the guy she likes also feels the same way about her, I don't know why he hasn't made any move yet, but on her part, she's scared of getting her heart broken again," Rose said.

"I'm not scared," Shea replied. "Just cautious"

"Honey, you are, now mute it, let the guy talk," Emilia replied while looking keenly at Leo.

"Well, I'm a guy, so I don't know how it feels when a girl is hurt, but I do know how it feels when a girl hurts a guy," Leo said

"Now we're getting somewhere. Tell me, Leo, has a girl hurt you before?" Rose asked.

"Yes. I can't give out too many details, but that was the first and only female I'd ever loved. She never loved me. She always blamed me for all her misfortunes." he said.

"Good lord! How can anybody do that? People can be so cruel," Tracy said with a sigh.

"Indeed. I couldn't leave her. She was all I had. But she left me with a letter. A fucking letter was all I got, stating she was never coming back. At first, I thought it was surreal, but seconds turned to minutes, minutes to hours, hours to days, and then I realized she was for real; she was gone. I couldn't see past her betrayal; how could she be so selfish?" Leo blotted out in pain. Then he turned to Shea and continued, "We've all been hurt, some more than others, but I firmly believe that not everyone is a monster. So give this guy a chance; you never can tell. Not every guy came to hurt or destroy you; some came to rebuild and restore." He concluded while standing up, "Now, if you'll excuse me, ladies, I think I left my book in the hostel," He said and left.

"Wow...only hearing that you're falling for someone else threw him off the edge. Ladies, that dude looks like he's going to have a heart attack," Emilia pointed out.

"Why did you have to make it look like it was someone else?" Shea said to Rose.

"Well, he shouldn't know the truth until you're ready to tell him yourself," Rose calmly stated.

"He was right, though; some guys came to restore. And he might be one of those guys, Shea." Tracy added.

Leo walked back to his table to gather his books.

"Dude, what happened?" Daniel asked.

"Well, she's in love, that's for sure," Leo said.

"That's good news. Why aren't you celebrating it?" Greg asked in concern.

"Because it's not me," Leo said in agony and left.

"Damn," James said.

Outside the cafeteria

Greg ran after Leo.

"So what? You're done? You've given up?" Greg called out.

"Yup. Let it be Greg, don't stress it," Leo said while walking further away from Greg.

Greg increased his pace, trying to catch up with Leo. "So what if she's in love with another guy? What if you never get her? That's not the end of the world." Greg said.

"But she's the only girl I see, and I thought you understood that," Leo said in desperation without stopping.

"Young man, if you walk out on me one more time, I'll pin you to the ground," Greg said in irritation.

"Go away, Greg," Leo said, increasing his pace.

Greg took a stop and some steps back, then ran and jumped on Leo from behind, causing them both to fall. "What did I say nigga?" Greg asked, smirking. Dude, fine, she's in love with someone else; why stop now? You've come this far; who says there's a love story without complications? See this as a chance to prove to her that you're better than whoever she's in love with. Besides, some girls make up fake relationships to test a guy's love. I'm not saying she did, but there's a chance she did. Even if it doesn't win her over, at least try." He said, then stood up and gave Leo a hand. "Go and win, bro, and then come back with tales of love," Greg said and walked back into the cafe.

Leo stood for some moments simply staring at the cafe till an onlooker spoke out. "Well, don't just stand there moping around. Go for it."

That was it, Leo ran back in.

"You're back," Said astonished Rose.

"Yeah," said smiling Leo.

"Why?" asked an astonished Emilia.

"I'm here to ask Shea if she'd want to hang out with me Friday night," Leo confessed, and all the girls exclaimed.

"I'm sorry?" asked an equally confused Shea.

"There's this movie airing on Friday, plus I've got tickets to the Beatles live show also happening the same Friday. What do you say, Shea? Just one night...two friends. That's all." Leo explained.

"Well, say something," Rose urged.

"You caught my attention at Beatles. I'm so down" Shea happily agreed.

"I'm grateful. Have a wonderful day, ladies," Excited Leo said and left.

"Oh my God, Shea. He actually asked you out," Rose said in shock.

"It's an innocent date; you heard him, two friends," Shea replied.

"Oh, the things you can do on an innocent date, honey," Emilia pointed out, lost in sexual thoughts.

"Exactly, innocent night, that's all I need with Drake," Tracy added, drifting off to fantasy.

"You girls are the worst, honestly," Shea said in laughter. "While you're here picturing an affair between Leo and me. I have other things to attend to," Shea said while packing her bags.

"Well, honey, remember to use protection, alright? Babies are made in less than 5minutes with some guys," Rose added, and everyone burst into hard laughter.

"Even if I'm attracted to Leo, which I'm not, I'm not at all. What about my dad? He'd never support the relationship. Why did a tunnel that'll never end?" Shea finally spoke out.

"Sweetheart, you don't need your father's support to fuck" Rose pointed out.

"Preach," Emilia said, raising her water bottle.

"You girls are impossible," Shea said in giggles as she left.