Dear Leo (An Area 11 FanFiction)

Chapter Thirty Three-Park

22nd March 2015

"Can you tell me where we're going?"

"No."

"...Now?"

"No."

"...What about now?"

"Bloody hell Grace, you'll know when we get there!" Sparkles* sighs. "Just wait five more minutes!"

Sparkles* has decided to take me out somewhere, after I mentioned that I haven't seen much of Bristol yet, but he keeps refusing to tell me where we're going. I can't even take a decent guess, I don't know what sort of things there are here. Maybe a restaurant? Or a cinema? I haven't seen any near where we live, so that might explain the half an hour walk to get to wherever we're going.

"You sure you can't t-" I begin, but Sparkles* glares at me and I shut up.

"We will go back home right now if you do not stop whining," he threatens, trying to sound annoyed but holding back a smile at the same time. I grin and swing our clasped hands.

"You love me really. Are we nearly there yet?"

"You wanna be there soon?" Sparkles* asks, and I nod. "Then let's go!" He starts to run, leading me along by the hand. My other hand goes up to my head in an attempt to keep my fedora on my head.

"Sparks*, slow down!" Both of us are laughing like crazy, and a lot of people are giving us disapproving looks. The pavement is just a blur beneath my feet as I try to match his pace. We run down the road and through a large, wrought iron gate that opens up into a huge park, and finally stop. I double over, the two of us caught between giggling and gasping for breath.

"Ah...woah...give me some warning next time!" I gasp at him. "I don't do running!"

"Clearly," He smirks, and I gently slap his arm.

"Asshole. I take it we're here now?"

"Yep. Well, there's a bit more walking to do before we're at the exact place," Sparkles* explains. Groaning at the thought of more movement, I start walking slowly next to him. I glance at the backpack on his shoulders.

"I forgot to ask, what's with the bag?"

"You'll see." He winks at me. "Just wait a few minutes longer."

We walk until we reach a large expanse of freshly mown grass, lined by a rainbow of flowerbeds and various shrubbery. The landscape is complete with a fountain, filled with shining pennies that people have tossed in and made a wish with over the years. Sparkles* leads me over to stand by the fountain, and takes the bag off his shoulder. He pulls out a picnic blanket and spreads it on the floor, then gestures for me to sit.

"Ta da!" He pulls some sandwiches, biscuits, sausage rolls and crisps out of his bag, then most importantly...

"OH MY GOSH YOU BOUGHT TEA I LOVE YOU!" I immediately open the flask and pour myself a small cup.

"I shouldn't have bothered with the food, the drink would have been enough for you," Sparkles* jokes, pouring his own cup of tea. He may be joking, but it's probably true.

~An hour or so later~

"Hey Sparks*, how many coins do you reckon are in there?" I ask him, leaning against the pale stone edge of the fountain.

"I don't know. Definitely hundreds, maybe thousands," he shrugs, skimming his fingers across the surface of the pool of clear water.

"Each one of those coins has a story behind it. Like that one-" I point to a dull looking two pence piece. "-could be a coin that an old man threw in, maybe he wished for the weather to brighten up. And the one pence next to it could be his grandson's change from buying an ice cream. He might have wished for a golden retriever puppy, or to get better at playing the guitar he got for his birthday." I look up at Sparkles*, who seems to be deep in thought, but still paying attention. "All of these bits of metal have a story, an owner, a wish behind them, but we'll never really know what or who it is. All we can do is guess." Sparkles* starts digging his hand into his pocket, and eventually pulls out a five pence and a two pence.

"Let's add some new stories to it them." He passes me the five p and I close my eyes, gripping it tightly in my palm. I'm old enough to know that these things won't work, but there's still a part of me that wants to believe in miracles, and in wishes coming true. Turning the coin over with my fingers, I toss it into the water, hearing the tiny plonk as it hits the surface.

I wish for my life to be less complicated and free of worries, like Ethan and depressing thoughts of my dad.

"You made your wish?" I open my eyes to see Sparkles* looking at me expectantly.

"Yes, but I'm not telling. It won't come true." A small smile creeps into his face. Childish, I know, but you must respect the rules of wishing no matter how old you are. Sparkles* brushes his hair from his hazel eyes.

"I don't need to worry about that. Mine already came true," he says quietly, holding my hands in his and leaning towards me until our lips collide.