Natalie woke up to her phone ringing, Leon's contact popping up on her screen for the first time.

She stared at it for a moment, as if expecting her eyes to clear and the words on the screen to change.

Three buzzes passed before she snapped out of her daze.

Leon was calling her.

She scrambled out of her bed, clearing her throat before answering.

"Hello?" she said stupidly, as if she didn't already know who was calling.

"Good morning," Leon's voice came through the speaker. "Can I come in?"

"What?" Natalie glanced at her bedroom door, dread filling her stomach at the thought of him meeting her parents, but then her brain caught up to her body. She turned to her window and looked down to find Leon standing outside, phone against his ear.

When he saw her, he waved, smiling widely.

"Oh, my God," she muttered, unlocking the window, and pulling it open. "Of course."

He hung up and, with an easy jump, he climbed onto the roof beneath her window and slid into her bedroom.

"Good morning, girlfriend," he said, pressing a swift kiss to her lips.

Natalie jumped back in surprise, swatting him away. "I just woke up!"

"I know," he said. "I've been waiting outside forever."

"What?" she sputtered. She glanced at her bedroom door, suddenly nervous. "Did my parents see you?"

Last night, after Leon had left, Natalie was forced to face her parents. Somewhat. She didn't see her dad after intentionally avoiding him all night, but her mum had come looking for her to find out what she'd missed.

Natalie didn't feel like talking. Her mum gave her a long hug and a kiss to the forehead before whispering that she'd be there to chat when Natalie was ready.

Her mum had always been the more level-headed one out of the two.

Natalie had been so overwhelmed with emotions, she buried her face into her pillow and let sleep wipe her thoughts away.

Leon shook his head. "Come on, Natalie. You should know I'm good at going unseen."

"Right," she said before pivoting. "Wait, how long were you waiting?"

"Oh, forever." He flopped down dramatically on her bed before leaning up on his elbows and grinning widely. "Fifteen minutes?"

She rolled her eyes. He laughed.

"I just couldn't wait to see you," he said.

"I didn't realise having a boyfriend would be so suffocating," she teased, sighing loudly.

"Get used to it." He winked, reaching his arms out to grab her waist. She dodged his grip and giggled, stepping back.

"Stop, I need to get ready for school!"

"Good," he said, "because I was wondering if I could walk you today."

Natalie looked at him, his expression suddenly serious—almost even nervous.

It hit her then that she'd never seen him in the morning. His uniform was still neat, his tie secured around his neck and shirt neatly ironed. She wondered for a moment if he'd ironed it himself. She could imagine him, standing at the ironing board, slowly running it over the wrinkles of his shirt.

She thought about his question for a moment, imagined them walking through her neighbourhood hand in hand—not metres apart like their previous walks together.

Her dad was already pissed at her. How much worse could it get?

"Sure," she decided, nodding. "Just let me get ready really quick."

She grabbed her uniform and stepped out the door, shutting it quickly behind her. She rested her back against the wood of her door, releasing a silent breath.

Leon was sitting on her bed.

Leon was going to walk her to school.

Leon was her boyfriend.

She could squeal if she knew no one would hear it.

All those weeks she'd been so nervous around Leon. She was constantly overthinking and analysing everything, trying to define their relationship, and put them into a neatly labelled box.

Well, now their relationship was defined, and it was a whole new kind of nervous. How was she supposed to act around her boyfriend? She had ten minutes to figure it out.

Natalie practically skipped to the bathroom. She paused as she passed the staircase, her eyes meeting her dad's as he pulled his shoes on at the front door.

She froze. He blinked at her. She couldn't remember if he always looked that tired, if those bags under his eyes had always been there.

A second of silence passed, and then he opened his mouth, about to say something.

Natalie still didn't feel like talking.

She spun and bolted into the bathroom.

By the time she was dressed and ready for school, her parents were gone, and Leon was lying on her bed, reading a familiar book.

"Why do you like that book so much?" Natalie asked, re-entering her bedroom.

Leon glanced up at her. "Why do you?"

Her face warmed. She thought about deflecting for a moment, but she actually wanted to hear his answer.

"I like cheesy romance," she said, shrugging, trying to play it off as no big deal. She didn't see why it had to be a big deal, but it felt like people would look down on her if she ever admitted it out loud. It was like when she was in primary school and her cousins would tease her for liking Justin Bieber.

"I like cheesy romance too," he replied. He took her hand into his, smiling. "That's why we're a perfect match. Obviously. No other reason."

"Obviously." She rolled her eyes but smiled anyway. "Come on, we'll be late."

He didn't have to be told twice. He stood, swinging their joined hands, and moving towards the door.

"Look at us," he said, "walking through the front door for once."

"Should we have taken the window?" Natalie teased. "For old time's sake?"

He turned to her, circling his fingers around her ponytail, and letting her hair run through his fingers.

"Nice hair tie," he teased, hinting at the heart-beaded hair tie holding her hair together.

They paused at the front door where Natalie pulled her school shoes on. Leon gazed around the house, peeking into her kitchen.

"So, this is where you eat," he said. "Huh. I was in such a hurry when you were sick, I didn't really get a chance to look around." He paused, frowning at her. "Did you eat breakfast?"

"Possibly."

"Breakfast is the most important meal of the day, you know."

"Says you," she said, lifting a brow.

"I'll have you know I ate a protein bar while waiting outside your window."

"What, no oats today?"

The morning air was cold. Winter was in full swing and the breeze that bit at Natalie's cheeks only reminded her of the limited time left in the school year.

Soon, spring would arrive and so would their graduation. She'd have to decide on her university preferences—her degree preferences.

That was a problem for later.

Today, Natalie wanted to enjoy walking to school hand-in-hand with her boyfriend.

Leon squeezed her fingers and she smiled, unused to the idea of holding hands with him out in the open. She didn't have to worry about her parents anymore, about people finding out. She could just be her—her and Leon.

A thought struck her.

"You didn't walk here, did you?" she asked.

"My bike's around the corner from your place. I'll get it later," he said before pausing. Smiling coyly at her, he added, "Or we could walk home together?"

"Leon, you're going to get sick of me at this rate."

"I could never," he replied.

Her heart skipped a beat. Leon and his sweet words. Of course, he was a romantic. He loved to flatter Natalie with carefully placed compliments. He really was something pulled straight out of one of Natalie's books, bruises and all. It was no wonder she fell for him.

"I was thinking," Leon said slowly, carefully—in a way that made Natalie nervous. "About Veronica."

She groaned. "That's the last person I want to think about right now."

"I know, I know. It's just, if we walk to your school like this—" he held their intertwined fingers up— "and if she happens to see us..."

Natalie sighed. It was something she'd thought about briefly, but she was too focused on enjoying the moment. She'd worry about Veronica when she saw her.

Except, Leon was right. If Veronica saw them and then she had to spend all day at school with her... she dreaded to think about the possibilities. Veronica was a master in passive-aggressiveness.

"She'll hold a permanent grudge against me," Natalie muttered.

"I know you didn't want me to talk to her yesterday," Leon continued, "but I think I know what I want to say now."

Natalie nodded slowly. It would be a little satisfying to see Veronica finally knocked down a peg. She kind of wanted to see her face when it happened.

"Okay," Natalie relented. "But can we wait until after school? I have a lot of classes with her today."

"After school it is," Leon said. "I'll meet you at the front gates. You'll see me."

Nerves suddenly bundled up in her stomach and she let out a long breath, nodding. It would be fine. Leon would be with her, and in a couple of months, she'd be graduated and out of here, never to face Veronica again.

Leon came to a stop and Natalie blinked, realising they were around the corner from her school. She faced him, smiling unsurely.

"How am I meant to say goodbye to my boyfriend?" she wondered aloud.

Leon laughed, releasing her hand to hold his arms open. "However you want."

Feeling brave, she stepped forward, throwing her arms around his neck. His arms came to wrap her in a hug, but she tilted her head up and captured his lips in a kiss instead.

He barely had time to kiss her back before she was stepping away with a coy grin. Leon stared at her wide-eyed, in a daze.

"See you after school," she said, tossing a final smile over her shoulder and waltzing to class.

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By the time the bell rung, a knot of nerves had sunk deep in Natalie's stomach.

The worst part of school was that Nyra was away, sick with the same flu Natalie had a few weeks earlier as it made its way around the school.

This was bad because Natalie couldn't squeal about Leon becoming her boyfriend—it even felt weird to think that word. And she didn't want to tell her on the phone. No, she wanted to see her reaction, live and in the flesh.

The second worst part of school was having to see Veronica all day.

It felt like every corner she turned, there Veronica was. Not that she acted any different—hell, Veronica didn't speak to her once today—but Natalie had to get through her classes, knowing the fact that Leon was about to crush Veronica's hopes once school was over.

She was nervous but she also had to admit, she was kind of looking forward to it. She could imagine Veronica's face when Leon confronted her. She was half-torn between wanting to be there and wanting to be as far as possible from there.

It turned out, she didn't have a choice.

Natalie walked towards the school gates, that knot still firm in her stomach.

She remembered Leon's words from that morning—she'd see him.

And she did.

Of course, where Leon went, a crowd seemed to follow. And a growing group of girls was rapidly forming at the front gates.

Natalie hesitated, swallowing her nerves, and forced herself to keep moving forward. She could hear Veronica's voice as she walked, only making her feel more anxious.

"Why can't we just talk here?" Veronica was asking.

Natalie could see her, between the heads of the girls in front of her. Veronica stood just in front of Leon, grinning widely, glancing at the crowd that continued to grow, as if to say—see, I told you I knew him.

"Veronica, I really don't think that's a good idea," Leon said, looking increasingly uncomfortable. He gazed at the crowd, as if searching.

Natalie realised a second too late that it was her he was looking for. She took another step forward, trying to meet his eye, but he was already looking back at Veronica.

"Whatever you want to talk about, we can do it here," Veronica said, her voice booming across the courtyard.

Natalie frowned. Of course, whatever Leon had planned wasn't going to work with Veronica. She was basking in the attention. She loved that people were looking at her now. Whoever thought she might have been lying about Leon was being proven wrong.

Veronica would never take their conversation elsewhere. She wanted people to see her talking to Leon. She probably wanted that attention more than she wanted to actually talk to Leon himself.

Leon hesitated. "Are you sure?"

"Very," Veronica said.

"Alright." He let out a long breath, as if he really didn't want to do this, before steeling his gaze. "I heard you've been spreading my fight technique around."

Veronica's smile wavered. She blinked slowly. "I haven't..."

She had no defence. Leon's stare was piercing, and her voice tapered to silence.

"I just want to know," Leon said carefully, "how you figured it out."

"What do you mean?" Veronica said, her wide grin turning into a nervous smile.

"How did you figure out my fight technique?" Leon asked. "I didn't tell it to you, so where did you hear it from?"

"You..." she glanced at the girls around her before her eyes moved back to Leon. "I mean..."

Leon's stare was unyielding. He was a fighter, after all. He knew how to intimidate.

Veronica let out a defeated huff.

"Fine!" she exclaimed. "I saw you with a girl."

Natalie's heart skipped a beat. She'd admitted it, and so easily too.

Leon's lips twitched with satisfaction. "Where?"

"At the bar. The one your dad used to work at. I saw a door open and walked downstairs and I saw you in the boxing ring with some girl," she explained. "Some girl with, like, dark hair and... I don't know. I didn't see her face."

Leon's brows furrowed for a moment before lifting in realisation, the same moment Natalie's did. He turned back to the group of girls, instantly meeting Natalie's eyes.

She paused for a moment, looking only at Leon. Her pulse quickened and one word echoed in her mind. Boyfriend. They had finally crossed that threshold. That fading line between them. Their relationship had gone to friends with a question mark to DATING, capitalised.

And yet, Natalie still had a threshold of her own to cross.

She swallowed hard and made the decision before she could change her mind.

She stepped forward.

Leon's eyes widened a fraction, but he lifted a hand like it was second nature to him. She walked towards him, feeling his hand slide around her waist as if it was made to rest there.

Veronica frowned at her, her lips parting as if to ask what she was doing, but no words came out. Instead, her lips closed, then opened again, speechless.

Realisation seemed to hit her late, her eyes growing wide as they bounced from Natalie's face to Leon's.

"It was you," Veronica muttered.

Natalie smiled, shrugging. "It was me. Turns out I do know what boys are after all."

Veronica's face seemed to drop even further, but there was no anger. No hatred. Just blankness. She could almost see Veronica's thoughts shifting, rearranging with this new information.

Well, good. That was that then. Veronica had received the message loud and clear—not to mention in front of half the school. By the end of the term, she would probably never see Veronica again.

Natalie turned, meeting Leon's eyes. He was focused solely on her, his brow furrowed in questioning.

"Let's go?" she murmured.

Leon sent a final look towards Veronica before his fingers tightened around Natalie's waist and he turned, leading the pair away from her school.

Natalie walked stiffly, feeling every pair of eyes on her back. A part of her wondered if her dad was watching them from his office window. Not that it mattered if he was. She was sure word would get back to him.

"Natalie?" Leon asked. Natalie blinked, realising they had already walked a few blocks. "You're quiet. What are you thinking?"

"I don't know," she replied. "I mean, Veronica seemed surprised."

"She did, didn't she? You'll tell me if she says anything, yeah? Or does anything."

Natalie nodded. Of course, she would. But she also knew Veronica. She'd been in the same class as her since they could barely spell their own names. And she knew how Veronica looked when she wanted payback—that wasn't the look. She just seemed... empty.

"Leon," Natalie said, slowing her steps.

"Hmm?"

"I don't want to go home."

He frowned at her, and she looked away. Sometimes it felt like Leon could read her thoughts. And sometimes, impossibly, it felt like she could read his.

When she first met him, she could never have guessed what he might have been thinking. Hell, even a week ago, Leon was a mystery to her. But ever since he admitted his feelings, she felt like she could understand how his thoughts connected—how his mind worked.

And she knew what he was thinking. He was thinking about Natalie's dad. He was thinking about how they should talk it out and make up. He was probably thinking about his own dad a little.

But he didn't say any of that.

Instead, his face softened, and he nodded.

"I think I know a place."

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AUTHOR'S NOTE

I'm testing out the new scheduling chapters thing so I hope this posts lmao thank you so much for reading, commenting and voting!!! As always, let me know your thoughts! I'm going to miss this when the story is over -- very, very soon eek!!