Leo pulled me inside an empty janitor's closet so we could talk in private.

"What do you want?" I asked.

Leo dropped my wrist and said ,"Don't go to Homecoming with Teddy. Go with me."

I stared at him, completely speechless. Did he really just ask me to Homecoming? Why was he doing this? Does this mean he likes me?

"Why on earth would I go to Homecoming with you?"

"Because my friend is going to ask Via today, which means she will have a date if she says yes. I asked you because if she says yes then I have to third wheel all night and I really don't want to." I listened to his words very carefully, trying to detect some other reason for asking me, but I couldn't find one.

"I don't want to go with you. I don't even like you. Plus, I want to go to Homecoming with someone that I actually like, not just a friend like you."

"Please," Leo begged," I promise I'll make it up to you. This will be a good opportunity to make Teddy jealous."

I thought about it for a couple minutes. This would be a good opportunity to make Teddy jealous. He's friendly to everybody, even the girls. This would be a good time for me to see if he actually liked me the way I like him.

"Okay fine but on one condition."

"I'll do whatever you want." Leo looked at me, waiting for my condition.

"You have to take Via and I to Freddie's after school whenever we feel like it, and you have to pay."

Freddie's is this 80's style diner 10 minutes away from the school. They had the best fries, burgers, and shakes in town. It was a hidden place; a place you would only know about if you knew where to look.

"Done. Except when winter time comes around it might be harder in the next couple months because basketball tryouts are in 2 weeks and if I make the team I will be a lot busier."

I looked at him and sighed, "Fine, you don't have to take us after school but whenever you win a game you have to take us and pay for us."

Leo nodded his head and then opened the door for me.

We walked out and started walking towards Anatomy together. "Oh, speaking of basketball tryouts, when do you get your stitches off?" I asked, suddenly remembering the trip to the hospital yesterday.

"I'll be good in time for tryouts. Don't you remember the doctor saying that I can get them off the week before tryouts?" He chuckled a little as he replied.

I let my hair fall in front of my face as I looked at the ground. I had completely forgotten that the doctor said that. I need to pay attention more.

As we walked to class, we talked a little more about homecoming and what we would be going as. Leo wanted me to go as a nurse and him be the doctor but I told him that's too cliche.

By the time we had reached the classroom we had named off every costume imaginable.

"I still don't see why you can't be a nurse. I bet you would look sexy as hell." He looked over and winked at me.

"Because that's super cliche and I want to go as something a little more creative than that," I replied as we sat down.

"Whatever you say AJ."

---

Once it was time for lunch, I practically sprinted to the cafeteria. I was starving and was craving some fries. Our school's weren't the best, but they were better than some places.

As I was in line to order my food, Leo came up behind me and grabbed a slice of pizza an set it on his tray. "So, I had another idea for our costume."

"Shot," I said as I grabbed my fries and a slice of pizza too.

"What if we went as undercover spies at a gala or something. Then I could wear a suit and you could wear a dress with a slit. Or we could go as Cinderella and Prince Charming, but more of a modern day version."

The modern day version of Cinderella and Prince Charming didn't sound too bad, but I was still hoping that we could come up with something better.

We walked towards the table Via was at. She didn't even notice us walking towards her because she was too engrossed in her phone.

"AJ WATCH OUT!" I heard Leo scream. All of a sudden my lunch tray was going flying in the air and I was slipping on something.

As I prepared myself for the incoming crash to the floor, I felt a pair of strong arms wrap around my body.

I looked up into the bluest eyes I had ever seen. They were oceans of blue that never seemed to end. I saw a flash out of the corner of my eye, but it didn't register in my mind that someone had probably taken a photo. I was too preoccupied at the moment to care.

"Having fun staring AJ?"

I finally came back to reality and realized that it was Leo I was staring at. The corners of his lips were turned up in a smirk which made his eyes sparkle. Great, now I was getting distracted again.

Somehow, I managed to pull myself out of the trance and back on my own two feet. "Uhm, thanks f-for saving me. I'm going to go now." The words spewed out of my mouth and I made a bee line for the cafeteria doors. No way was I staying in here and risk getting caught staring at him again.

Also, why was my heart beating so fast? It's not like Leo is even that cute. Okay, that was an understatement, Leo was extremely cute, but it didn't matter. He is my best friends brother and my childhood bully. There is no way that I would ever have any sort of feelings for him that go beyond friendship.

I pushed open the door to the girl's bathroom and ran over to the sink. The ice cold water from the faucet came pouring out as I turned it on and splashed some on my face. My cheeks were burning from the embarrassment of falling in front of half the school and from getting caught staring at Leo.

Water droplets dripped down my face when I looked at myself in the mirror. My cheeks were still slightly pink, but not nearly as red so that's good. I realized that my hair was a mess, pieces were falling out of the messy bun I had done in a rush this morning.

Oh no! Leo saw me like this, with my hair in a mess and my cheeks bright red. Is that a stain on my shirt too? Damn it. He probably thinks that I'm a slob now. Wait, why do I even care what I look like? I never really cared before, so why should I start caring now?

It was at that moment that I had come to a startling revelation. I had pushing the thought aside for the past couple weeks, but it was impossible to ignore now.

I liked my best friends brother, Leo King.

I'm in trouble now.

---

Via and I were walking to the car after school when suddenly her brother stopped us.

"I just want to let you know that I won't be needing a ride home I'm going to stay late with one of my friends and work on homework. I'll be back in time for dinner," Leo stated. He then turned and jogged back into the school, not bothering to wait fro our response.

"So is Leo coming over for dinner then?" I asked Via. "Yeah, I want to spend more time with him. Also, he said that you two have some anatomy project to work on," she replied.

"I thought we agreed to work on it this weekend. I wasn't aware of the change of plans." My brain was looking for all the possible reasons as to why he would change the date, but it was the end of the day and my brain was practically dead from all the school work I had to do today.

"He said something about wanting to get it done as soon as possible so he must have decided on his own to work on it with you tonight." Via shrugged after she finished talking and got in the car.

---

When Via and I were talking on the way home, I may have accidentally let it slip that I was going to homecoming with her brother.

"WHAT? How come I'm just being made aware of this?" She screeched at me. "We just decided to go together this morning, and it's not a date. Leo suggested going to make teddy jealous. That's all." I sat back and kept my view on the road, not wanting to see Via's face.

"Wait, so do you like my brother now?" she asked.

"No, why would I?" I answered back.

"Whatever you say. All I know is that my brother has had a crush on you since forever and you should give him a chance."

How could he have had a crush on me forever? When we were little all he ever did was bully me and tease me. Those aren't exactly signs of affection.

I brushed off what she said and tried changing the topic. "So, who are you going to go to homecoming with," I asked Via.

I glanced over at her and saw a slight blush appearing on her cheeks. She mumbled something but I couldn't quite catch it.

"What did you say?"

"I said I'm going to go with Miles."

I let out the loudest squeal ever right as we pulled into the driveway. "Via, that's amazing! I know you've liked him since freshmen year. How did he ask?" My mind was going a mile a minute with the extra excitement coursing through my veins. I was so happy for her.

I know she really likes him and I know he's a good guy so he will treat her right.

"I'm so happy for you guys. I'll be rooting for you."

We walked inside our house and each went into our rooms. My anatomy textbook was sitting on my desk where I had left it last night. There were sticky notes sticking out from all sides and papers strewn across the top of my desk.

Last night, I was trying to get a head start on the project that way when Leo came over on Saturday, now today, I would have already narrowed down our options.

My top three choices were the cardiovascular system, the nerve system, or the respiratory system. All of them sounded the least boring out of all the options.

Knowing that Leo was coming over, I decided to clean my room. I didn't want it to look like a pigsty when he came over.

Besides the mess on my desk the only thing I had to do was make my bed and pick up all the clothes thrown haphazardly across my floor. I did the clothes and my bed first since I knew I could get them done in five minutes.

Once I finished cleaning my room, I went downstairs to watch TV. I didn't know when Leo was going to be coming over, so I just put on a random movie and waited.

Even though it was only barely 4 o'clock and I had done absolutely nothing all day, I found myself falling asleep 15 minutes into the movie.

I started to dream about being trapped in the jungle and having to fend for myself when all of the sudden I heard someone saying my name.

"AJ."

"AJ."

"AJ!"

I snapped my eyes open and practically flew off the couch. My forehead somehow managed to knock against Leo's forehead as I screamed.

"OWW! Watch what you are doing AJ," Leo yelled at me.

"Well, if you wouldn't have scared me then that wouldn't have happened. What are you doing here anyways?" I asked.

"It's dinnertime. I'm eating with you guys and then we are going to work on our project together. Didn't Via tell you?" He questioned.

"Oh yeah, I forgot about that for a second. So what are we having for dinner?"

Leo shrugged his shoulders and walked into the kitchen, with me trailing behind him. My dad was standing near the stove stirring something in a pot.

"Dad what are we having for dinner?"

He turned his head at my voice and replied, "spaghetti and meatballs."

Yum! My dad made the best homemade spaghetti and meatballs.

"Athena, the meatballs are in the oven and I'm making the sauce now. The noodles are already done and in the fridge. Can you stir the sauce for me and take the meatballs out when the timer goes off. I need to shower?"

"Sure, Dad."

Once he went upstairs, Leo started talking about what we were going as for homecoming. "I'm just saying my personal favorite is the nurse. You should really give it a chance. You would look great."

"Ugh! How many times do I have to tell you this. I'm not going as some stupid nurse just so you can have some eye candy to stare at all night. It's high school. There will be plenty of girls barely dressed for you to look at. My idea with the angel and devil is better," I said.

This went on like this for 5 minutes. We kept bickering back and forth, neither one of us willing to compromise.

All of a sudden the smoke alarm was going off. We both snapped our heads over to the oven. Smoke was pouring out of it and the sauce had somehow managed to boil over in the time that we were arguing.

"Leo, take the meatballs out of the oven!" I screamed. He grabbed some oven mitts and carefully took them out and turned off the oven. Somehow, the meatballs caught on fire in the process.

"Put it out, put it out!" I yelled at him.

He grabbed the biggest bowl he could find and filled it with cold water from the sink.

He then proceeded to dump it all over the food. However, his aim was off and half of it landed on the meatballs and the other half landed on me who was standing right next to them.

"You're dead now King," I said before I took off running after him.

-----

What do you think about all the Athena and Leo moments in this chapter? Whats going to happen with Via and Miles? Will Athena and Leo ever decide on a costume?

I'm sorry I have't updated in a long time. Lately, I've been really busy and have forgotten to right. I've had writer block lately too. I kind of feel like my story is bad so if you guys have any suggestions please leave them in the comments. Thank you.

Don't forget to vote and comment!