At the airport, Heather was waiting patiently for Leon. From time to time, people would let their gazes linger on her for an extra few seconds. She had a great figure and she easily stood out despite standing in a crowd.
When Leon strutted out from the VIP tunnel of the airport, he spotted her immediately. From afar, he waved at her energetically.
“Heather,” he called out. Meanwhile, she smiled at the sight of him.
“Come here,” she said succinctly as she waved back at him.
As he had long legs, it didn’t take him much time before he was standing right in front of her. He was smiling from eye to eye and he looked so warm and welcoming.
“Heather, you’re the most attractive person among the crowd. You totally outshine all the other women.” With that, he opened his arms wide, attempting to give her a hug.
However, she was quick to avoid it. Scrutinizing him, she immediately had him stand there without trying anything funny. It took one gaze from her to stop him from being hyperactive. Initially, he even tried to pat her head but he retreated after getting a glare from her.
Whenever Leon was with her, he had to be on his best behavior. That was why he didn’t dare to do anything that would seem intimate to her. Heather was never a fan of intimate actions, and Myra was the person that she was the most intimate with.
“Stop being so glib.” She pinched the bridge of her nose as she reprimanded him. Leon was truly a hyperactive person, and sometimes she wished that he was more mature.
Nonetheless, there was enough maturity in Heather to cover for them both, while Leon would be the friendly and active one among them two. Though they complemented each other, she would sometimes feel that he was too hyperactive.
Right now, it was one of those times. He was blabbering nonstop in her ears, and she could only look at him in displeasure as they were attracting gazes from other people nearby.
He talked about his ventures in Italy en route, and she would acknowledge him once in a while. He seemed to be very excited as if he was a horse that got off restraints. How did he become so talkative after not seeing him for some time?
When they arrived at Heather’s new apartment, Leon finally stopped talking about Italy only to start talking about Bradfort City.
It was almost impressive how he could just go on and on. He was also very curious about Bradfort City as he thought that this city was full of cultures and stories.
Obviously, he didn’t bother to mask his liking toward the city. Meanwhile, she didn’t have much of a special feeling or thought about the city. Despite the fact that she had grown up here, there was a very long period of time that she hated this city.
“Leon, can you be more quiet?” she commented as she passed the apartment’s keys to him.
She had the urge to just dump him by the roadside as she began to regret having brought him back. He was too excited and he could use some time to calm down.
“Heather, that’s very hurtful. I’m just very happy to see you, so I can’t suppress my happiness.” He gave her puppy eyes while he pouted.
At once, she rolled her eyes at him. Leon’s tricks didn’t work on her as she was immune to his looks.
“Don’t give me the pitiful look. I’m not your ex.” She simply brushed him off, disregarding his googly eyes.
“Heather, do you really not feel attracted to me at all?” He continued to show her his pitiful, adorable look. She was quick to stand further away from him as she had foreseen that he would even tug on her sleeve.
“Yes,” she said straightforwardly.
Leon kept his pitiful look and looked her up and down. “Heather, are you not attracted to men?” He then gave her a suggestive look as he said in a playful manner.
“Yes, I like women,” she said helplessly. Leon was truly a headache sometimes.
“I knew it! Is the person you like the person you always mention? Myra, right?” he exclaimed, thinking that he was clever.
She didn’t know whether to laugh or cry at his reaction. “Great imagination.” She didn’t expect that he would take her joke seriously. She would totally surrender to him already.
“That must be it. You must have secretly cried when she got married a few days ago.” He said it like he had seen it with his own eyes.
Upon hearing that, she sent a slap to his head. “Your brain is short-circuiting. I don’t understand you.”
Seeing her dark face, Leon no longer continued to fool around. It seemed that her best friend was off-limits for joking. The look in Heather’s eyes told him that she wanted to end him then and there, and he was beginning to get scared.
“Heather, I’m hungry.” He finally stopped joking around.
“I’ll bring you to get some good food.” She no longer seemed as tense when she said that. Leon wasn’t always like this with everyone. In fact, he only acted this way whenever he was with her—he would only stop when she was about to get mad.
“Okay. You’re the best!” He beamed at once as he began to charm his way out.
“What do you feel like eating?” She wouldn’t really get mad at him. In fact, she was already smiling at him now. She was really lenient when it came to Leon.
“Solarian cuisine! Now that I’m in Solaria, I must try authentic Solarian food.” Excitement was evident in his voice. He seemed to find a lot of things exciting, and it was a trait that Heather was jealous of.
“No problem.” With a smile, she decided to bring him to the most famous restaurant in Bradfort City.
“Heather, you look so pretty when you smile.” He seemed to be in a daze as he looked at her. He liked to see her smile a lot as it felt like her smile could save him.
“I’ll smile more if you’re less annoying.” She raised her brow as she said half-jokingly.
“I’m the cute kind of clingy. How is that annoying?” he retorted in discontent. He was a cutie, so how could she say that? It was really hurtful.
“Are you even a guy?” she asked helplessly. Sometimes, she even wondered if there was a princess living within Leon’s heart.
“No, because I’m a man.” He winked at her as he said that. What a waste of a good-looking face.
He had a well-defined face that even both Matthias and Tony couldn’t compare with. However, Leon lacked the natural aura that the other two had. Matthias had more of a depressing aura, while that of Tony was more domineering. As for Leon, he was beautiful.
His beauty was androgynous. His deep eyes were so mesmerizing that one would get lost in them, while his brows were just at the perfect spot. Every inch of his body was the finest works of God Himself. His sculptured beauty was comparable to that of Greek gods.
On top of that, he also worked out. Hence, his figure was also at a tip-top condition; there were muscles under his shirt yet he seemed fit when he was dressed. Though he had fair skin, he didn’t seem too girly. He was the epitome of gorgeous, and Heather would definitely let her eyes linger on him for an extra few seconds if he were quiet.
However, he did not want to be the quiet, handsome man. His goofy character was not that attractive to her, but that was also the reason why she was so close to Leon. Others might think that they were a thing, but she knew very well that it was impossible for them to be anything more than friends.
Leon wasn’t her type and she was clear about that. Hence, she was willing to befriend him and get close to him as time passed to become good friends.
Maybe he did want to get into a relationship with her in the beginning, which would explain why he was so persistent in getting close to her and weaseling his way into her heart.
Despite successfully getting close to her, it was not going in the direction that he initially intended. In the end, he understood that he could only be friends with her.
There were many instances that he wanted to confess to her. Nonetheless, he always kept them to himself as he knew that they would not be able to stay as friends once he confessed.
As he got closer to her, he knew how merciless she could get. However, he also knew that she acted cruel to hide her true emotions.
She would not easily fall for anyone, but when she did, she would give her everything. That was something Leon admired about her. Another thing he admired about her was that she always lived by her principles. He wanted to be someone with principles too, but he often broke his own rules.
As they were on the way, he finally quieted down. Looking at the side profile of him in deep thought, she could not help but admire that he was a mixed-blood as his facial features were much more defined than Solarians.
“Do I look good?” He turned to face her with a serious look as he gave her a deep gaze.
“You look good. People are definitely jealous of your face.” She put on a meaningful smile. She was really jealous of his immense beauty.
“You can have it.” The corner of his lips curled upward as he looked at her. In his eyes, Heather was the most good-looking person.
Despite having met a lot of beautiful people and even dated some, he still liked Heather’s face the most.
At times, Leon would wonder whether it was because he couldn’t have her that he coveted her. He wanted to deal with his feelings, yet being good friends with her was hindering the former. It was not always easy for him.
“No. I don’t want to become a man,” she said with her face scrunched up.
He pretended that he had been hurt and switched to his pitiful mode again. In the beginning, she would be affected by his puppy dog eyes as it was really hard to not feel sorry for him.
However, she was now immune to it. She would even send a slap his way whenever he did that now. As of now, Leon was rubbing the back of his head as he gave her a sad look.
“That hurts so much. Heather, you’re so ruthless,” he said with his mouth hung open.
“I’m curious.” She suddenly turned to face him with a serious look.
Under her stare, he was beginning to feel shy and his heart began to race.
“Why are you always so goofy around me while you’re all perfect in front of other people?” She was exceptionally serious when she said that. His outstanding performance was what made her want to collaborate with him in the first place.
“Perfection is just a mask that I put on for outsiders and my parents. That’s not for my true good friend,” he chuckled as he masked the tiredness in his eyes.
Leo smiled whenever he spoke to her, but he was actually truly exhausted inside out. There were a lot of things that he wanted to tell her, but he didn’t know where to begin or how to begin.
“You have so many masks. Are you sure you’re not wearing any when you’re with me?” she asked profoundly because he was behaving oddly. She knew that whenever he acted like he was excited and happy, he had other burdens that he was keeping to himself.
“How much longer until we reach?” A trace of anxiety flashed in his eyes as he immediately changed the topic.
“Do you remember what I said? I’ll always be your listener. You don’t have to hide in front of me.” She offered him a warm smile as she said that. She genuinely wanted him to be happy as she really cared for him.
