When Leah's smart childhood friend aka old neighbour returned as a total hot dude, she didn't think he'd be asked by her mother to be Leah's tutor.
But sexy Zander had something else in mind: he wanted Leah all to himself. Sadly, Leah had a crush i...
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Prologue Childhood Friends
Ten years ago
"LEE," A SOFT HIGH-PITCHED voice sounded, causing the tiny brunette to whirl around. Leah, the protagonist with long hazel hair tied into two fishtail braids, along with bright emerald eyes which were now darkened and sad, sniffed to control her tears. She had been sobbing in front of her porch because her crush had just told her she was ugly.
Nobody ever said such a thing to her before— not even her best-friend-slash-enemy, Zander, who was usually either too mean, or too nice to her. The worst he'd done to her so far was snatch her food away, or take away her favourite toys. Yet somehow those actions didn't seem as hurtful as what the boy she liked did.
Leah didn't need to look to find out the owner of the voice was Zander. Of corse it would be him— it was evening and her parents weren't home till midnight, and her brother was always asleep by this time. That was why Zander always came to her house to accompany her till her parents came home, or till the two little children were so tired that they'd end up sleeping on the couch in the hall together. Either way, he was always coincidentally present when Leah needed someone.
Leah rubbed her tears away. It was turning dark right now, and she prayed Zander didn't see her cry.
Unfortunately, he did. He cupped her tiny, chubby face with his tiny fat hands. A look of concern flashed across his face. "What happened to you? Why were you crying?"
Leah sniffed. "I wasn't crying. My eyes just got cut by the flower I caught just now."
"You can't trick me, Lee," Zander crossed his arms and frowned at her.
She knew it was true. Zan knew her better than anyone else— even more than so her parents. He was always there for her whenever she cried; obviously he would notice when she cried again.
"Jack said I was ugly." She admitted, tears streaming down her face as her swollen eyes looked towards the ground, "he said my specs make me look uglier than I already am, with my messy brown hair."
Zander always didn't know what to do when she sulked so badly like that. Whenever she was sad, he was sad, too. He didn't want to see her cry. He loved her smile— he'd always found her smile more beautiful than anyone else's. He wanted to see her smile again.
So he just wiped her tears away softly with his small hands, because he didn't know how else to stop her from crying.
"Nonsense," Zander cupped her face once again, making her look at him, "you are beautiful. Your messy brown hair is beautiful. Your specs are beautiful. Your smile is the most beautiful. Everything about you is beautiful."
He meant it from the bottom of his heart, he just didn't say it out before because he found it embarrassing. But now seemed like the right moment to say such a thing to Leah, since it was to cheer her up too. It somehow didn't make him as embarrassed as he'd expected if it sounded more like a console.
Leah's eyes lit up slightly. "Really?" She asked, her voice full of hope and anticipation. Zander nodded his head.
"But he rejected me," Leah's shoulfer dropped, her voice more sour than before, "nobody wants me."
"I want you!" Zander blurted out even before thinking. He quickly realised what he had just said and covered his mouth, his cheeks reddening. That sounded really daring! But then he saw Leah giggle, and suddenly he thanked himself for saying such a thing. This somehow gave him the courage to continue.
"I won't reject you," he smiled warmly at her, his voice more sincere than ever, making her stop crying at once, and instead she could hear her heart pounding fast, "I like you."
Leah blushed. She didn't know why, but his confession made her really happy. It was as if whatever Jack had said didn't affect her anymore. Her evening was already brightened up by Zander's magical words. "Really?" She grinned shyly, her blush deepening.
Zander nodded again. She looked at him, her green eyes glistening, "I don't dislike you either."
He was happy. He didn't know what she meant, but at least he knew she didn't dislike him. All the while he'd been disturbing her; he couldn't help it—he loved it when she showed him her different facial expressions. She was adorable, especially when she was angry. He thought she hated him for bullying her. But she didn't seem to, and for now, that was enough.
"So that means... we can be together?" Zander asked, full of hope, his bright grey eyes looking into hers.
Leah nodded slowly and shyly. Zander flashed the most blissful smile on earth.
Then he did the most daring thing he'd ever done in his seven years of life: he gave his crush a peck on the cheek.
Leah touched her warm cheek as she stared at him in disbelief— she had just gotten her first kiss! Her face reddened so much that she tried to cover her face with her two small hands to hide her embarrassment.
He chuckled at her reaction. He loved her smile, but then he realised, maybe now he loved her blushing face even more. She was beautiful, much more beautiful than anyone else in the universe, other than his mother.
Zander pulled her hands away from her face and held it tightly, his gaze soft and warm. "We will be together forever," he said it loud and clear for the whole world to hear, although nobody was present, just the two of them.
This time, it was Leah's turn to flash her brightest smile— the sole smile that Zander had always treasured and admired—"Yes. Together forever."
And the two of them continued holding hands for as long as they could remember, while admiring the stars in the night sky.
It was the best day of their seven years of living so far.
