Fire on Fire || Leonardo DiCaprio

Chapter 5: Down to Earth

I had been playing with Candy on Leo's bedroom floor when I heard a loud rumble of thunder. I jumped a bit, realizing how dark the room had gotten. Leo had a light on his bedside table, just casually reading a book on top of his covers. Nilah had gone to the store to stock up on food already, since Tobey was arriving tomorrow. Apparently Leo ate a lot, and it didn't help that I was over here the majority of the time.

I could already feel my heart palpitations starting as white light flashed behind the curtains. I hated bad storms, and the wind was picking up more by the minute.

"You okay, Piper," Leo checked after I squeaked when a crash of thunder shook the house. I silently shook my head, paralyzed in fear as I shivered. Candy was simply licking his paw without a care in the world, going after his sister who just tried biting his ear. I almost had a heart attack when I felt something grab my arm, realizing it was Leo. "Hey, why don't you join me on the bed? You look really scared."

I silently nodded as I allowed him to help me onto the mattress, taking the side against the wall. I buried my face in Leo's chest as the rain pelted the panes, the weather sounding ferocious. He gently brushed my hair back with his fingers before wrapping his arms around me, pretty much having us cuddle. Even though it was still kind of hot in the house, I loved the feeling of his warm chest and the smell of his fresh t-shirt.

"Do you have a favorite song," Leo whispered, tickling my ear and causing me to shiver again, but for different reasons this time. I blushed profusely as he rubbed away the goosebumps raised on my arm.

"Um... I really like I don't Want to Miss a Thing by Aerosmith. Do you know it?"

"I think so." I held back giggles as he literally murmured the first verse, unsure of any of the words. He then was able to softly sing the famous chorus though. I had almost forgotten about the storm outside, listening to his off key yet soothing voice and how he kept rubbing my arm.

"Thank you for helping me feel better," I told him, producing a weak smile as the sun returned.

"No problem." I froze when I felt him gently kiss the top of my head, reluctantly raising it to directly look at him. My hands were trembling as his eyes flickered down to my lips. I purposely licked them to give him the hint, us both jerking at the shrill ring of the phone. "Hello?" Leo balanced the device between his shoulder opposite me. "Hey, Tobey. How are things going? You what? I can't hear you. There's a lot of static on this end. We just got a big storm. I said, we just got a big storm! Okay, are you fucking me? What airport are you at? Alright. No, I'm happy that you're here, it's just that Nilah already took the car out. No, I can't just ride a bike over. They don't even live in town. Yeah, I guess I'll either have to wait for her to get back or find some other way to get there. No, I'm not going to leave you there all night. That was one time I was late meeting up with you." A smile danced across Leo's lips as he laughed a tiny bit. "Shut up. That was a total accident. What's that? Oh, you're out of quarters for the payphone there? Okay, I'll see you as soon as I can then. Bye." He laughed out loud before a pink blush dusted his cheeks, me wondering what Tobey had said. "I guess she might be coming too. No... We're just friends. Shut up." It was so cute how he got quieter in mid laugh. "Seriously, you better not pull that shit when I see you. You got that? Okay. Bye." He placed the telephone back onto its holder before facing me. "Um..." He touched his nose as he almost laughed nervously, his face becoming even more red. "That was Tobey and his flight came in early. He needs someone to pick him up at the airport."

"I bet you could borrow one of our cars. We have 4."

"You have 4?" He seemed a bit surprised as I giggled quietly.

"Yeah, two of them are really old, and two of them are newer. We never buy new cars because they're too expensive."

He nodded slightly before standing up, stretching his arms high above his head and unknowingly showing off his biceps.