Half Moon || Leonardo DiCaprio

Chapter 19: Half a Person

"What about this one," Leo wondered. We were currently house hunting, me in awe by how every single building was a mansion.

"They're all gorgeous, Leo," I breathed. Since Titanic had wrapped up recently and we both got our paychecks, we felt it was time to find a more permanent home. The apartment was nice, but we wanted a place where we could have enough space for a family. "I love the book nook over here." I slipped into the smaller area with a window seat and pillows facing beautiful trees in the spacious backyard. "And that staircase is so magical how it curves along the wall..." I drifted to the wooden steps, carefully going up to the second floor which had more rooms than I was accustomed to. "The master bedroom has a walk in closet," I gushed after checking it out.

"All of them have had walk in closets so far," he lowly chuckled.

"But not like this one. It looks like a princess could store her things in here. And the bathroom in here! There are two walk in showers and sinks."

"I'm guessing you like it here." He appeared amused as he wrapped his arms around me from behind.

"Yes, I love it. I think this might be the one. Do you like it?" I strained my neck to look up at him, a soft smile on his lips.

"I'm happy with any of them to be honest, but this one does seem special. I like the indoor pool."

"There's an indoor pool?!"

He chuckled lowly as I dashed for the main floor, rushing for the cabin like pool room, seeming more like a cozy place rather than just an echoey space.

"I think I'm in love." I spun around as Leo caught me, swaying us from side to side as he remained behind me.

"You want this one, baby?"

"You've never called me that before." I felt the corners of my mouth twitching upwards as I held onto his arms.

"I thought it was time we started using nicknames and things like that, Kiwi."

I blushed super hard at my old name from when I was pretending to be a princess as a kid. Hearing it in Leo's husky voice made me get butterflies though. "Okay, Noodle," I played along, him laughing at his old nickname from when he was a breakdancer. "So, this is home now."

"After we sign the papers. I don't think anyone else was offering the full price, so we should get it."

"I can't believe we can afford a place like this. It's literally heaven."

"Only because I'm buying it with you," he suavely responded, tilting his head to meet mine in a sweet kiss.

It was bittersweet as I gazed at our bare apartment, our final boxes in the vehicle out front.

"I hate saying goodbye to places," I quietly expressed.

"We're taking pretty much everything with us."

"I know, but it's just... this is where we first lived together. It's where you told me about all of our movie roles together, and we sorted through laundry together, and talked on the balcony late at night..."

"There's a balcony in our new bedroom," he spoke up, attempting to cheer me up.

"I know. It just doesn't have any memories yet."

"It will soon. I promise," he vowed, kissing my cheek delicately before we officially left.

Our wedding was just on the horizon as the premiere of Titanic happened in December, girls screaming for Leo's attention as we spoke with interviewers outdoors. It was weird seeing ourselves on the big screen, but it was wonderful to see how our hard work paid off. I had no idea what would follow this night though, Leo Mania. We literally had to duck fans anytime we went outdoors, and I had to deal with people yelling mean things to me for taking their man. This went on for weeks, and we even had to push back our wedding to January, since it was so hectic. It didn't seem to be slowing though as we collapsed in the back of our car after picking up eggs, milk, and brownie ice cream from the store. Our driver was careful to speed out of there without hurting any of the fans swarming us.

I was quiet when we put our items away in the kitchen, anxiety gripping me with the thought of if someone tried to break into our house. We had top notch security and even a gate we built around the premises, but I still worried about the future. I felt Leo leaving a kiss on my neck, but I dodged it, silently walking upstairs.

"I'm sorry this happened again, Hattie. I seriously thought they wouldn't follow us this time. I mean, we wore those disguises and everything."

"I don't think baseball caps do much," I sadly noted. I sunk onto the edge of our bed as I studied my hands, feeling my heart sink. "I don't know how much more I can take of this." Leo got on his knees as he brushed my hair behind my ear, but I wished he hadn't, since then he could see me cry. "It's only been like a month, and we've had to push our wedding back, and I... I'm just so scared of you getting hurt, or me. Those girls hate me, Leo. They hate me! They don't care if I was Rose in Titanic. All they see is who stole their Jack."

"Hattie, things will die down eventually. It will get better."

I shook my head as I bit my lower lip, a few tears trickling down my cheeks. "Leo, you were rated the top actor right now. You are literally talked about more than Brad Pitt or Johnny Depp or even Tom Cruise. Everyone's obsessed with you."

"What can I do to make things better," he softly asked.

"You can't," I cried. "No one can fix this. It's just too hard Leo, it's too difficult to deal with." I curled up into a ball on my side, just sobbing gently.

"What if I took a year off from acting, huh? Would that help?" His voice had gotten softer and almost higher.

"No, you've already been looking into The Man in the Iron Mask. I don't want to be the one that keeps you from doing what you love."

"But I thought you loved acting too."

"Not as much as you, Leo." I lifted my head before sitting up, him looking over at me the whole time. "I mostly did it because you believed in me, and if I'm being completely honest, I took the other roles because I knew they would be with you. I don't care about the fame. I guess I just wanted some kind of career, so you wouldn't have to support me for everything. I mean, I love acting, but not like you. It's more of a hobby for me, I guess."

"I didn't know that." He pressed his lips together as I sighed shakily.

"I'm horrible at handling all of this new attention. I just want to hide in my bed and never come out. I just don't think I can take another day of it."

"Then what are we deciding on? I'm confused where this conversation is going."

"Maybe... Maybe we're just too different, you know?"

"Don't you dare fucking say that! You know that's not true," he stated, scrunching up his face in partly anger and pain.

"But it is, Leo! I'm quiet and reserved, and you're outgoing and social. Acting is your life, what you're most passionate about besides the environment. Acting was mainly just part of my life because of you. You are everything I'm not."

"But I love you, Hattie. I don't even want to be having this conversation. I'll give up my career for you. I will. We can just become environmentalists together."

"Leo... as much as I care about the environment too, it's not a full time career I want. Yes, I want to recycle everything I can and make changes, but I don't want to be a spokesperson in front of thousands of people. That's your dream, not mine."

"Then what is your dream, Hattie? You name it and I'll help you with it."

"I don't know, but I feel like I just need something that's my own."

"Are we still getting married," he abruptly asked, trying to fight off tears in his misty blue eyes.

"What," I softly asked, not expecting the question.

"Are we still getting married," he slowly emphasized.

"I don't know. I don't want to lose you, but I don't want to lose myself in all this. I'm sorry, Leo." I then ran off to be alone, not able to move anymore once I reached the kitchen. I hugged myself tightly as I finally allowed myself to cry as hard as necessary. I then noticed the moon beyond the window above our sink in the kitchen. It was a half moon just like the night we first met, and just how I felt right now, like I was half a person.

A/N: Hey guys, I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Sorry for the emotional rollercoaster. Things shouldn't stay this sad. Please remember to comment, vote, and follow. Thank you so much! <3