FRIDAY

In the end of the afternoon, Leo left the bathroom drying his hands, only to find Erica waiting for him outside.

Huh... she could have waited near our workplace.

Probably too much love. Couldn't stand be too far away from us.

"Hum, hi? What are you doing here? Need help with something?"

She has holding a small white board, and wrote with a black marker.

I was thinking about eat something later, do you want to join me?

"Me?"

She nodded smiling, before erasing and writing again.

It's not good to eat alone, especially if you have friends. So, you in?

Well, we always have each other company, but yes, it's sad to eat completely alone, especially a pretty girl like her.

She doesn't have to ask! Of course we're going!

She smiled when Leo grinned nodding.

In an hour is good for you?

***

"Cheeseburgers? Girl, you're like a dream come true!"

As long as she doesn't eat only salad...

Leo sat with Erica in a round table with three chairs and was happily salivating on the menu.

Oh, gods, look at these pictures!

I rather see a real one in front of me, so stop staring and start reading!

"What is HE doing here?"

Ugh.

It must be fate. There's no other explanation to why we can't avoid her.

Erica was writing something quickly on her board. Leo tried to read, but sitting opposite to her, his dyslexia didn't allow him to read upside down. Callie came closer and was reading over Erica's shoulder. When she ran out of space on the white board, she erased and continued to write.

That is not fair!

We didn't get to read...

Now I'm curious...

Whatever Callie read, made her set her jaw, before exhaling. Erica erased what she wrote again and Leo watched amazed as Callie's mutinous expression morphed to a cold courtesy, and she took a seat between Leo and Erica. She took a deep breath before giving him a tentative smile.

"Hi, how are you?"

... WHAT?

He was pretty sure he made a comic picture, with his jaw slack and his eyes round, yet he didn't care. He turned back to Erica.

"What kind of sorcery was that? What did you write? Is it a magic spell? Can you teach me?"

Callie tightened her jaw, and he could say that she was twisting her hands to prevent herself of wrapping them around his neck.

"I asked how are you. I was being NICE."

Humph, right.

"Exactly WHY I asked what kind of sorcery is this. You're not nice! My sunshine is nice when she wants, but you... 'nice' is NOT in your vocabulary."

I think you said something wrong.

What, why?

I don't know, she seems angrier than before.

Oh, great, she's taking a deep breath. Here she comes yelling at me again.

"Sunshine? You gave Erica a nickname!? And you call her YOURS!?"

Oh... so THAT is what set her off.

"What? No! I'm not talking about her, I'm talking about... someone else. Erica is the Duchesse Sugarplum of Dewdrops and Sweetpeas. Or Sweetpea for short."

This just refreshed her judgmental posture.

"So you did give her a nickname."

Leo shook his head before turning back to Erica.

"Stop trying to distract me! Sweetpea, I had no idea you were into magic! What kind of spell did you use to make her act NICE? Can you teach me? Oh, wait! Please tell me it's not a dark magic. I can't do dark magic, I'm a hero! And I like my nose, thank you very much. Wait, is it voodoo? Do you have her doll hidden somewhere?"

He lifted the cloth and checked under the table. She was obviously having fun, Leo could see Erica laughing, despite no sound coming out.

If she wasn't mute, I think she would have the whole restaurant looking at us by now.

Why?

I'm guessing she would be laughing really loud, if the tears coming out of her eyes are any sign.

Callie groaned, gripping her short hair in her hands.

"Oh, God, how can you be so ANNOYING?"

Leo looked at Erica startled.

"Sweetpea! The spell is wearing off, I think you should recast it. And quick, before she scratches me!"

Erica threw her head back laughing and almost fell from her chair, quickly recovering, with a weary expression mixing with her laugh.

"Ugh, can you be ANY MORE annoying?"

Is this a challenge?

I feel it's.

"Girl, you have no idea what you just asked..."

"NO! It was a rhetorical question! I don't want you to be MORE annoying! I want you to stop!"

"Well, and I want the Combo N°3."

That made her stop and look at him like he just lost his mind.

"What?"

"Well, you said what you want, and I said what I want, which is a Combo N°3, I'm hungry."

This time, Erica fell from her chair of laughter. Both Leo and Callie stood up to help her sit back.

"What about you, Sweetpea? Did you have time to choose or Miss 'Nice' made you lose your appetite?"

Erica was breathing hard, trying to stop laughing. Callie sat back in her chair, while Leo kneed next to Erica and held her hands in his. He could see Callie fuming, but he didn't pay her any attention, focusing on the girl in front of him.

"Duchesse Sugarplum of Dewdrops and Sweetpeas, I, Supreme Commander of Argo II, as your loyal servant, beg you, please, reveal to me your secret."

She chuckled, before taking back her hands and writing something in her white board.

I can't tell you, my lips are sealed. I'm taking this one to the grave.

Leo pouted, and she pinched his cheek, while laughing. He got back to his seat under Callie's glare.

Well, she likes us, deal with it.

Someone in this table had to recognize how awesome we're.

When he handed Erica his menu, since she threw her own to somewhere behind her when she fell from her chair, a couple of girls approached their table. One seemed their age, while the shorter one seemed a bit younger.

"Hi, I'm Sabrina, and this is my younger sister, Danielle."

"Danielle is too long, just call me Dany."

Oh. Wow. Our animal magnetism is even more powerful than we thought.

Well, I guess they can take a picture of us.

Sabrina turned to Erica.

"You're the new girl in my class, right? You're wearing the same scarf from today's morning."

Erica nodded, shyly and twisting her hands with a napkin.

"Well, we decided to come down here and eat something, but it's just the two of us, so maybe we could join you?"

Erica panicked, looking between Leo and Callie, like one of them could whisper to her the right course. Callie just shrugged.

It always has to be us...

Leo stood up and bowed to them.

"I, Supreme Commander of the Argo II, in the name of my benefactor, Duchesse Sugarplum of Dewdrops and Sweetpeas, along with her... thing, the-"

She-devil.

She's going to kill us.

Totally.

"-She-devil, welcome you to our table and celebrate your presence."

I think we've been spending too much time with Niel.

Probably.

Erica was laughing and trying to hide her blush. Callie was fuming and just one little push to jump at his neck. Sabrina seemed lost, while Dany just took a step in front of her sister and offered Leo her hand to be kissed.

"We appreciate your words, Oh, kind gentleman. Me, Princess Hot Stuff of Spice Pumpkin, in the name of my sister, Princess Honey Precious, royally accept your invitation."

Now, THAT is more likely.

The tables around them clapped, like they were watching a play. Someone even whistled. Erica started to slip in her chair, trying to hide her crimson cheeks. An employee came with two other chairs, and they rearranged themselves around the round table. After everyone looked over the menu, Leo only trying to disguise his rumbling stomach, Sabrina called the waiter back.

"I'll have the vegetarian one, thanks."

That made Leo remember of Piper and the tofu tacos.

"Huh, vegetarian?"

"Yes. I don't eat meat."

"Nothing? Nada?"

"Yes, it has been four years, give or take."

"I have a friend who is too."

Dany closed her own menu.

"I'll have the double cheeseburger, with bacon and onion rings."

When everyone in the table raised their eyebrows except for her sister, that was ordering their drinks, she smiled.

"No vegetarian, couldn't live without meat."

"That's more my kind of girl!"

No offense to Piper, but I prefer meat.

Once the others had ordered, an awkward silence took place on their table. Callie was the one to break, looking at the new girls.

"So, sisters? How much time between you too?"

Dany was the one who answered.

"Yes, sisters, and two years apart. I know we don't look alike. She was lucky to be the first one and get both the blue eyes and the straight hair. For me, all that was left was the curly hair and brown eyes."

Leo opened his mouth to say that was nothing wrong with her, before she continued.

"But no worries. At least I got this AMAZING skin a lot of shades darker and much more resistant, so I don't turn as red as a shrimp in just one hour out in the sun. And I don't have to spend 2h of my day to use endless moistures and soaps and whatever, just to fight acne, unlike someone in this table."

She put her elbow in the table and her chin on her wrist, while not so subtlety, pointing a finger to her sister, who just smiled and rolled her eyes.

Callie smiled before asking again.

"So, you two know Erica?"

Sabrina shook her head before answering.

"No, just me, we have a class together. Oh, and her first day, it was epic! She got to her chair really quietly and tried to hide behind a book. Like anyone wouldn't notice the only new girl. Oh, and when the teacher, Mrs. Thomas, asked her to come to the front and say something about her. And she started writing on the board, obviously. Mrs. Thomas got angry, saying she asked her to SAY something, not write. And then she started doing some crazy mimics, trying to explain she was mute, it looked just like Ariel! And the teacher thought she was joking, and got even angrier! So she started drawning on the board, and yet Mrs. Thomas didn't understand! Until someone, I think it was Mark, yelled 'well, it's pretty obvious she's mute, and you must be either blind or stupid for not getting the message earlier!'. It was amazing, the whole class cracked up!"

Leo could see Erica getting redder by the second.

"And then the teacher didn't know how to apologize, and the class wouldn't shut up, and she – Erica, isn't it? – tried to hind behind the book again... it was a mess. Now, don't be shy, Erica, no one blames you or something. It was actually amazing! By the way, your scarf is really beautiful. And how you two know her?"

"I'm her distant cousin."

It's hard to believe they could be related.

That's what the part 'distant' is for.

"Which made the nasty and rude gene get lost before reaching Sweetpea."

Leo grinned while Callie glared and the other girls laughed.

"Anyway, like I said before, she's my benefactor. I will happily serve her to the end of my days."

That made Erica blush again and Callie snicker.

Dany spotted their waiter bringing the food so she turned to Leo, offering her hand.

"I bet I can eat faster than you."

"What are we betting?"

"A banana split."

"I'm in!"

"Fool. You're so gonna lose..."

We'll see it, Spice Pumpkin, we'll see it.

(A/N: Do you have any idea how hard is for me to write 800 words of Leo's? Now imagine the 1800-ish that was this chapter! That's why I'm so late. So, hope you enjoyed!)