Envious // Leo Howard

•19•

We pulled up to Liv's house, quickly putting all of my stuff in a random wagon in Leo's car. "Why do you have a wagon in your car?" I asked.

"When I went to martial arts tournaments I'd always have my own stuff to bring, so I'd put it in the wagon. I never took it out, which is great for our situation here," Leo grunted as he put in the last trash bag. It was 4:30 in the morning by now, including the unpacking of my stuff. "You go knock, I'll bring the stuff," Leo told me. I knocked on the door, waiting there for a couple minutes until a groggy Liv opened the door. Her eyes widened at the sight of me and my stuff.

"Oh my god! What happened?" she quietly exclaimed, letting me and Leo into her house.

"I got kicked out," I shrugged. "Do you mind if I crash here for the night?"

"I have an extra room next to mine you can use," Liv nodded, beckoning us upstairs.

"This is gonna be a little difficult," I heard Leo mumble.

"Me and Liv'll hold the back, you hold the front," I suggested. We were able to maneuver everything into the room Liv was letting me use.

"You can unpack in the morning," Liv told me.

"I only need to stay for a night," I insisted. "I don't want to be a burden on your family like I was to my previous one."

"You won't be, I promise. You're staying here. I'll help you unpack tomorrow," Liv promised before leaving to her own room.

I sighed, turning towards Leo. "Leo, I wanted to thank-" I cut myself off at the sleeping figure on the bed in the room. Bubba was snuggled into Leo's chest, which was a little difficult considering his bigger size. I took off my shoes, joining the two for sleep.

—•••—

"Are you ok?"

"How are you feeling?"

"Do you need some time off?"

Those were the constant questions I kept hearing throughout the day. I don't know why though. I haven't gone public about my situation yet and my mood hasn't changed much, but if it had, it's a much more positive one. "Do you need ol' Mateo to cheer ya up?" Mateo asked as his greeting.

"Ok, that's it! Why is everyone asking me things like that?" I asked.

"Things like what?" Mateo responded.

"Everyone seems to be pitying me and I don't know why!" I replied.

"Yo, have you not seen Nicole's latest post?" Mateo asked. I shook my head. In all honesty, when I was driving with Leo last night, I blocked all and any forms of communication to my former family. "Check it." Mateo pulled up Nicole's Instagram page, showing a picture of her, Kristy, and Cheryl surrounding a 'Finally Happy Family' cake. The description read:

So, as most of you know, I'm the cousin to the rising star Sasha Clearwater, but I think there's a few things you should know. Sasha has always been neglected. That's why she needed to be famous so bad. She wanted to feel wanted. As if that's gonna happen. One day she'll crash and burn. Oh wait! The day came last night! My mom and Aunt Kristy kicked her out of the house after the millionth time she spoke back to them. Maybe it's her newfound popularity, but Sasha is changing. For the best or the worst, you can decide. (For the worst)

"Wow," was all I could say.

"Good luck to you. I'm pretty sure interviews are gonna start coming to you nonstop," Leo told me.

"I don't really know what to say about that," I mumbled.

"Whatever you feel, we're here for you," Leo reminded me, pulling me into a hug.

—•••—

It's been 8 months since Nicole revealed that I was kicked out and I've been living with the Holts. I've been there for so long, I actually started calling Mr. and Mrs. Holt, mom and dad. I love them so much. Anyway, my birthday is coming up and everyone is acting extremely suspicious. They always stop talking when I walk up to them, they shoo me away needing to talk about something 'important', and Leo takes me on surprise dates he says comes from the goodness of his heart, but I know it's to distract me. Not that I mind. I love hanging out with Leo. In fact, I love him. We actually revealed it to each other a month ago, so it's not a secret.

"Care to tell me what's going on, Mr. Secret?" I asked as Leo drove me to a 'secret spot'.

"I am taking you on another date," he replied.

"I know that. I'm talking about what's going on between you, the cast, the crew, and my family," I clarified. When I say family now, I'm talking about the Holts. Everyone knows that and everyone thinks it's adorable.

"I have no idea what you're talking about," Leo shrugged it off.

"You do too!" I insisted.

"So, how's your acting life going? This is the last season of Kickin' It, so what're you gonna do afterwards?" Leo poked around the bush. I would've scolded him if I wasn't so damn excited about my future.

"I'm definitely staying in the Disney business, so I auditioned for a role and I got it!" I exclaimed.

"What role is that?" Leo asked, interested.

"It's called Descendants. I'll be playing the daughter of Gaston named Gwen. She's best friends with Maleficent's daughter, Mal, who's going to be played by Dove Cameron, the Evil Queen's daughter, Evie, who's going to be played by Sofia Carson, Cruella De Vil's son, Carlos, who's going to be played by Cameron Boyce, and Jafar's son, Jay, who's gonna be played by Booboo Stewart," I answered. "We're gonna start filming next year."

"Sounds fun," Leo answered enthusiastically. After that, he turned on the music, letting me sing to the radio. During some parts, he'd sing too, but he wouldn't do it for long because he doesn't think he sings too well. "We're here," he sang pulling up to a beautifully setup picnic in front of the Hollywood sign. We spent the rest of the afternoon talking, laughing, and snacking til we had to go home. Best birthday date ever!