forward / slash ✭ matt sturniolo

FORTY-EIGHT

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CW: panic attack

With her last exam finished, Leanna had packed her things so she could be at home for the summer. Lea's with her mom sorting through an old box filled with her baby photos. Her mom wanted to add another photo of her above their fireplace. While Penelope was struggling to pick whether she wanted the photo of Lea kissing Arlo's cheek when she was four or the one of Leanna wearing a tutu and a crown for baby ballet, Leanna found an old camcorder at the bottom of the box.

"I love camcorders, the videos on them look so cool," Leanna says, turning on the camera. She zooms in on her mom looking at the two photos.

Penelope mentally notes that she'll hang both of them up, instead of just one. Putting the rest of the photos back into the box, she looks up at her daughter, "You can have it if you want. There should be extra SD cards in your dad's office from his photography phase. You could even record some of your date with Matt today, it would be cute."

Setting the camera down next to her, she looks back at her mom, "How'd you know about my date?"

Penelope slides the cover of the box on top, "Marylou called. We both had suspicions. You went from having red eyes and blasting sad music on Saturday to having the widest smiles I've ever seen on Monday. I did the math. Matt told her, and she told me. I'm glad you're getting back together."

Leanna smiles to herself, "Me too."

"You should get ready. He's coming at 12:30 pm," Penelope lifts the box up, placing it on her hip.

Leanna doesn't bother asking how she knows when their date starts, she nods and heads to her room. Before she knows it, 12:25 pm has hit and Leanna is ready. She has the camcorder in her hand and her phone in the other. She had texted Matt to ask if it was alright if she brought it, and he said yes. If Leanna is to be honest, she's nervous. Over the course of the two years they had broken up, they'd gone through a lot of change. There's a small part of her that fears that they might be too different now— less compatible. But, she pushes that thought out of her mind when she hears her mom call out that Matt is here. As Leanna walks down the stairs, she catches Matt speaking to her dad. Rushing to save him from a potentially awkward conversation, she places the camcorder on the kitchen table.

"Hey," Leanna interrupts, tucking her hair behind her ears. Her dad compliments her before pointing to Matt, telling him to 'remember what I said.'

Matt's smile widens when he sees Leanna and his eyes shamelessly trail down to her lips, "You look beautiful."

Before she can reply, her mom exclaims how adorable they are, holding the camera toward them.

Suddenly feeling awkward, Matt looks down at Lea, "What do I do?" He whispers.

"You just got to stand here and look pretty, should be easy for you," She pats his chest, turning her head and smiling at the camera. "Ok mom, we have to go. Love you!"

Her mom hands her the camera and sends the two on their way. Shutting the front door, Matt grabs her hand and they start walking toward his car.

"So, what exactly are we doing?" Leanna asks, moving to the side when Matt opens the car door for her. While she buckles her seatbelt, she watches as he walks over to his side.