You're My Focus || Leonardo DiCaprio

Chapter 7: "You Secretly Feel The Same Way"

"Small voice in the choir

Guess I never dared to know myself

Can my heart beat quiet? No

But then there was you

Yeah, then there was you

Pull me out of the crowd

You were telling the truth"

~"Capital Letters" Hailee Steinfeld & BloodPop

Leo and I were mildly drunk as we stumbled across the threshold of the hotel. We had sipped on lime margaritas at the restaurant, so the alcohol was streaming through our veins.

"I don't want to be alone," I truthfully admitted as Leo fought with his keys.

"You can come over for a little bit," he offered, finally shoving his key into the lock and turning it with a click.

"Thanks," I responded, following directly behind him into the cool room.

"Why don't you want to be alone?" We were at the stage of intoxication where we were mostly just bluntly honest and a little tipsy.

"I've never lived alone. First I lived with my parents, and then I moved in with Jason 2 years ago." I tugged my shoes off before lying back on his bed identical to mine.

"I didn't move out until recently. I've been with my mom my whole life," Leo confessed, placing his hands behind his head as took the spot next to me.

"Hm... Hey, Leo?" I leaned the area of my head below my ear against my palm as I turned sideways, using my elbow to prop myself up. "I'm really glad you asked me out tonight."

"You make it sound like a date," he scoffed, but in a positive manner.

"Well, you did take me to a fancy restaurant just the two of us," I pointed out.

"Point taken. Hey, you wanna talk about Jason or something?" He looked over at me as I bit back a smile.

"Nah... He's not here right now. I wanna talk about you."

"Whoa! Marlene!" He jumped back when I tugged on his tie, a frown crossing my lips. "I think you're a little more drunk than you think."

I then rolled on top of him, gazing down into his blue eyes as he swallowed hard. "Maybe I am, but you make me feel so safe, Leo. You were amazing the first day on set. I even got butterflies. Of course, Jennifer explained it was just me feeling Rose's emotions, but you were so sweet." I barely brushed my fingertips against his skin as I caressed his face. "And you make me feel things that I can't explain." Tears pricked at my eyes as the beverage affected me. "You're really cute, and I know you're a little younger than me, but you are over 21. And Jason was joking about being concerned about you, but I don't think it's very funny now." I was slowly unbuttoning his nice white dress shirt as Leo failed to stop me, his chest soon exposed. I shakily ran my hands over his warm, soft skin, Leo capturing his hands in mine to halt my actions.

"Marlene...," he groaned. "I'm not going to lie, I find you very attractive too, but you have a boyfriend, and you don't know what you're doing right now. And I'm not going to let you cheat on him with me. Fuck, I really didn't mean for it to be a date tonight. It just came out that way."

"Admit it, Leo, you secretly feel the same way I do. You just don't want to admit it," I challenged.

"What if I do? You're in love with Jason, Marlene. I don't expect anything from you." He carefully gripped my hips to pull me off of him. A loud sigh fell from my lips as I just looked over at him, my hair beginning to fall out of its updo.

"It's just weird."

"What's weird?"

"The moment I met you something felt different, like anything could happen. I am in love with Jason, but it's become so comfortable. Sometimes I wonder if I just stay with him because it's easier that way. He's reliable and warm and comforting, and I know he would never leave me. And I swore for years he's the one, but then how could I be catching feelings for you? I've been having dreams about you and me. And they scare me-"

"Marlene, they're probably just connected to the first scene we shot together," he interrupted.

"I don't know what to think anymore." I sniffled before cuddling into his embrace. "Things are just moving too fast. I cling to people when I'm in uncomfortable situations, and then there was you. Maybe I just like you because you were nice to me, but don't you feel that?" Leo winced as I brought his hand to rest over my chest, putting it lower than intended in my loopy state of mind.

He bit his bottom lip as he awkwardly just kept it there, frozen as he licked his lips continuously.

"My heart beats like crazy around you. Sometimes it's calm, but right now it's freaking pounding, and I never even used to use the word, 'freaking,' before."

"It's not a curse word, Marlene." He attempted to half smile, but I could tell he was still tense from his placement on me.

"I know... That's not the point, and now here I am explaining everything to you like I go through things in my head. I am literally my own psychologist, I pick apart things so deep until I find the answers."

His blue eyes flickered up to mine as he tried to remove his hand, but I wouldn't let him.

"And I don't think anyone knows anything about how I'm feeling. Even I'm confused by it. Maybe I settled too fast, but none of the other guys in my past ever got as far as Jason. It just never worked out. And I love him so deeply much, but it's new and exciting with you."

"Marlene, we aren't anything," he emphasized, causing my hold to loosen enough he finally dropped away his hand.

"I know, but I just thought you should know."

"Why?"

"Because you're my best friend."

He stared at me as he sunk his teeth into his bottom lip, finally reacting after an agonizing few seconds. "You're my best friend too, Marlene. You're welcome to stay here, but I think if you're going to keep getting so close to me you should go. I don't want you messing things up with Jason. I can tell that you really love him. Fuck, that's why it bothered me when you kept rambling about him on the plane, because the moment I saw you I thought you were the most beautiful girl I had ever seen."

"Thank you," I softly said.

"For what?" He truly was confused as he furrowed his eyebrows.

"For confirming that you feel the same way about me." That's when I cuddled up to him and fell asleep, feeling securing his arms as though the world could be on fire and the flames still couldn't burn us.

A/N: Hey guys, I hope you enjoyed this chapter. I love writing ones like these where they're just having little, private conversations in a cozy setting. Please remember to comment, vote, and follow. Thank you! <3