Taunt

Chapter 25- Taunting Games

[] A M E L I A []

It had been a few days since I told Leo about my brother, and in this time, nothing much changed. Andre was still as loud as ever, Gemma was still her mixture of bright and bold, Jamal was still the happy-go-lucky person he was, and Leo was still grumpy from time to time.

However, what was different was me. 

Somehow, I felt lighter after telling Leo. His acceptance made me more confident in myself. Not only had I been able to stay away from my hoodies all this week, but I was also a bit more open to others around me. Granted, I wasn't the same as I used to be since before the incident, but I was better than I was when I first started here. 

I felt happier. 

Leo didn't comment on my past after that night. He simply made sure to let me know that he wasn't going to push me away just because of my past.

Sometimes, it was actions that spoke louder than words, and that was true in Leo's case.

He never straight out said that he accepted my past, but his attitude towards me never changed. It's as if he wasn't even phased by what I told him. 

However, his nonchalant attitude was also confusing at the same time. How could he simply accept everything I told him? It wasn't easy, especially since I've known him for just over a month. There were people that had known me all my life and chose to leave me behind once they found out about my brother.

So why did Leo choose to stay?

Moreover, he never told Andre and Jamal about what happened between us. From what I gathered, the two of them had no idea about my truth. At first, I didn't want to believe that he never told them, but as the week went by, I realized he truly hasn't said a word to them. Something told me that at least Andre would have some sort of reaction to the newfound information. However, they were both normal. So not only did Leo prove that he was simply a good guy, he also proved that he was trustworthy. 

It was a lethal combination really. 

I never had to tell him that I wanted to keep whatever I told him between the two of us, he just simply understood and stayed quiet. He even hid it from his best friends, all for me.

And why he did that, was something I wasn't sure I wanted to know the answer to.

Finally pulling out of my thoughts, I focused on the task at hand. Since it was a Saturday, Andre decided that all of us should do something fun. After a much heated discussion, we all finally agreed to go paintballing. There was one arena in town and all of us were heading there in Andre's car.

Just as I finished getting dressed, my phone started ringing with Gemma's name flashing on the screen. I quickly picked up and told her that I would be out in two minutes. I grabbed a hair tie off my study table, which was also my makeshift dresser, and threw my hair into a high ponytail. Since the weather had gotten much colder in the past few days, I threw on a jacket as well. Then I grabbed my purse, chucked my phone in it, then started heading for the door. I locked up as fast as I could and started making my out. 

Ever since the note incident, I've been on edge every time I left my room. I felt as if there was eyes on me every time I made a move. However, for once, I wanted to ignore it. I was finally getting over my fears, and I didn't want to ruin that again.

When I made it out of my building, I spotted Andre's car parked across the street. When they saw me approach, Andre playfully honked the horn. I shook my head at him and quickly jogged over to the car. I got in the backseat, ending up beside Gemma. She squealed and gave me a hard hug as soon as I came in. I hugged her back and pulled away to greet everyone else. Andre was behind the wheel, Leo in the passenger seat, and Jamal sat on the opposite end of me, with Gemma in between us. Since we were just going paintballing, everyone was dressed comfortably.