Delicate

Chapter Eleven

"Oh, this is a good book too!" Milan stated as he picked out another book from the shelf, adding it to the nine books that he was already holding.

"Uh, I think these should be enough," Leo furrowed his brows, "there's also a little thing called the internet."

"Trust me, researching from books is always much more interesting," Milan said. He continued skimming through the rest of the book titles, contemplating which ones would help out Leo with his assignment.

"Let me hold them," Leo said as he noticed Milan struggling to carry the numerous books. But the other boy shook his head rapidly, making Leo sigh as he followed Milan around the aisle.

"Oh! This one was checked out the last time I tried looking for it," Milan said excitedly as he took out another book. Milan's phone buzzed in his pocket, but he ignored it. But then it kept buzzing, irritating and distracting the boy from his search. "Can you take my phone out of my pocket?"

"Sure," Leo muttered.

Leo walked closer to Milan, and realisation of he had asked of the older boy suddenly hit him. Milan's eyes widened as Leo's hand slid inside the pocket of his jeans to fish for his phone.

"The, uh, the passcode is 1205, can you, uh, check who's messaging me?" Milan asked. He didn't really have anything problematic on his phone. And he barely texted a couple of people, so he didn't care about Leo checking it.

"Sure," Leo said as he unlocked the phone and checked the notifications, "Some Ben is texting you."

"Oh, you do—" Milan immediately panicked, but it was too late.

"He says 'Hey Mila, I miss you, it's been a while, can you call me when you're free?'" Leo read out the texts.

"Okay, thanks," Milan said with a grim look on his face, "I think we've got enough books. We can get started on—"

"Who's Ben?" Leo asked as he curiously looked at Milan, who was now walking towards their table.

"My brother," Milan muttered.

"I didn't know you had a brother," Leo replied.

"Well, there's a lot you don't know about me, okay? Can we get back to studying now?" Milan snapped.

Leo furrowed his brows, looking puzzled as he watched the boy furiously turn the pages of a book. This was the first time Leo had ever seen Milan angry.

If there was one thing that Leo understood, it was how complicated family could be. So, he decided against pushing the topic. He waited patiently as Milan's breathing finally calmed down.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to raise my voice," Milan apologised softly, still refusing to look at Leo.

"It's okay," Leo replied truthfully.

"It's just... My brother and I..." Milan trailed off, not really knowing how to explain.

"Hey," Leo said, keeping his hand on Milan's shoulder to make the boy look at him, "remember what you said to me? At my place? You don't have to explain yourself to me either. I know that family can be a... sour topic at times."

"Thank you," Milan's voice was low, "for understanding."

"Now can we get back to the assignment? I need at least a C on this," Leo said with a rare smile, and Milan's heart immediately sped up.

If he thought grumpy, brooding Leo was hot, then a smiling Leo was simply gorgeous. Milan cleared his throat and looked away. Leo was not good for his heart.