Delicate

Chapter Thirty Six

Christmas day came and passed by in a blur. Milan did miss his dad, but he couldn't help but feel that living without his father removed a massive weight off of his shoulders. His mom, despite being in a sullen mood earlier, had cheered up as well.

Milan spent Christmas with just his mom. He tried to mediate between her and Ben, but Ben kept reiterating that he didn't want to reconcile with her. There was only so much that Milan could do, so eventually he stopped trying to convince his brother. Both Ben and his mother were adults, it was best that they dealt with the matter themselves instead of having Milan meddle.

On the other hand, Leo had a much more lively Christmas. Roan's parents ended up coming over, and so did his Uncle Kingsley with his partner. It was a full house, and there was never a dull moment. He had received enough gifts to last a lifetime, especially from his Uncle.

Leo and Milan met up after dinner, and went to a nearby park to hang out for a while before Milan returned to watch Hallmark movies with his mom, and Leo returned to the circus that was his home.

Leo had bought Milan the new Dragon Ball Z game, and Milan had bought Leo a vintage Superman comic. They both laughed as they unwrapped the presents, remembering Halloween.

After Christmas, Milan went to spend a few days with Ben in the city, and Leo got busy with all the guests. Milan came back on New Year's Eve, and so did Quinn. Currently, all three of them were on their way to a New Year's Eve party hosted by Delilah.

Leo had successfully spent his entire life without going to a high-school party, but now he was finally being forced to go to one. It wasn't even Milan or Quinn that forced him, or his parents. It was Maya, who yelled at Leo claiming that he was 'wasting the prime years of his life sitting at home'.

Leo had no clue how she knew there was a party, and also how she knew what the phrase prime years of someone's life even meant. Maya's brain will forever remain a mystery.

"Are you and Nessa back together?" Leo asked.

"Oh, yeah. Back together and sexy as ever." Quinn grinned from the backseat.

"Why did you both even break up?" Leo questioned.

"We got into colleges in different cities, so we both sort of freaked out over that for a while." Quinn shrugged. "But we talked about it and we'll give long distance a shot."

"That's nice," Leo muttered.

Leo turned to the side to glance at Milan for a split second. He realised that the two hadn't talked about their future yet. There were still a few months until graduation, and he knew that Milan was going to college in the city. But Leo still had no idea about what he was going to do.

That wasn't his biggest worry, though. He still wasn't sure if he was even going to graduate this year in the first place. Leo sighed tiredly as he drove, a slight frown on his face that didn't go unnoticed by his boyfriend. Milan grabbed Leo's hand, intertwining their fingers before giving him a smile.

Leo didn't take his eyes off the road but smiled back, squeezing Milan's hand softly.

The two storey house was packed when the three walked in. Almost as soon as they entered, Quinn told them they were off to find their girlfriend, before leaving the two boys on their own.

The only thing Roan had said to Leo was to not drink and drive. And that if he did end up drinking, then to call Roan and he'd come to pick them up. Leo respected what Roan told him, and decided to stay sober and be the designated driver.

"So, like, are we just supposed to stand in a corner and watch people?" Leo scratched the back of his neck as he looked around the massive room. It was full of either people dancing or playing tonsil tennis.