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HE KNEW he appeared like confidence radiated off of him like a sickness. shit, half of the women in the room were staring at him because of that façade — tall, laidback, handsome blonde boy with swimming pools for eyes who handled confidence like it was his bitch. from the moment he entered the gymnasium he got looks from all around, even some of the older lady teachers and staff were staring at him like he was the finest piece of golden jewelry, he was familiar to it all. 22 years of going invisible did not rub off of him at all; he kind of liked all the attention, but he ignored all their eyes just to stare into hers. it wasn't hard to find her either, to him, she was the only woman in the room glowing; the only one who wasn't looking at him like he was a sex object. she was looking at him like he was one of a kind.
he took his time to walk towards her, slow and snakelike, never breaking eye contact as he watched her watch him / she was looking back at him as if she was in a trance, her mind racing through a thousand emotions, her hands fidgeting from her nerves. he takes note of this and decides not to hurry, to savor her, to take his time just as clearly as her maker took time with her, cause jesus, kimberly yates was a flawless human being.
the bastard—as leo liked to call him—who stood in front of the woman he planned on romanticizing tonight finally recognized that he did not have her attention anymore. instead of attempting to retrieve it back, he turned around to see what she had been training her eyes on so intently — and he found himself staring back at determined blue irises.
"hello..." leo shifts his eyes away from kimberly to stare at riley. "...riley, isn't it?"
riley stares back at leo in suspicion before standing up straight so he could tower the blonde to establish dominance, but only by an inch is he taller. "remind me who you are again?"
leo nods his head over riley's shoulder but he keeps his eye on him. "her date."
riley's fists and jaw tighten but all leo does is raise his eyebrow, silently daring him.
to prevent the escalation of a fight, kim stands and puts her hand on riley's shoulder softly. "thanks for the company, riles. i really appreciate it." she says, slow, like medicine to a sickness, subtle as she calms him down. riley lets go of his fists and turns to face her. "yeah sure, no problem." riley gives leo one last look of intensity, a warning stare, meant to scare. it failed nonetheless, but leo gives him a smirk as if saying he appreciated the wasted effort.
when riley stalked off, kimberly felt vulnerable all the sudden. she was here with a human. she was shocked at first to even see him at the dance but was dumbstruck when she realized that she wasn't the only one who could see him anymore. she observes him wearily, taking in that he was actually real now and that his past transparentness is gone. leo tentatively took a small step closer but she didn't fidget or move an inch, indulging in his warmth and cologne.
"no hi for me?" leo says, and he's so close to her that it feels like an embrace. kim finally gains the courage to look into his eyes again. "you're here..."
leo gives out a breathless chuckle before staring back into her eyes, "i'm here."
then suddenly its perfect, like the DJ was reading into their situation, a slow song started to play and their eyes don't leave the other. both their mouths open to speak but kimberly is the one who beats him to it. "can you follow me outside?" and its barely a whisper, but he hears her and nods anyway.
her feet felt numb as she lead the way
everything prior to this moment had vanished, every memory flew out the window once leo presented himself into the room for the first time as a human in 22 years / kimberly didn't know what to say next, unsure of every move she made now — this is what she wanted but she's scared now, she hated herself for changing her mind so much but leo didn't seem to mind, he usually never did. he was so sweet and she loved him for it; she wasn't going to be ashamed anymore.
when the two of them stepped outside the sun had just begun to set — brilliant colors of blue, pink and gold appear like explosions in the sky with the sunset in the middle, like the eye of a hurricane; the only calm point amidst all the chaos.
"can you dance with me?" she asks him nervously
leo didn't miss a beat. "of course."
kim took a deep breath before she carefully wrapped her arms around his shoulders, pulling him in closer to her as he did the same with his hands on her waist. she leans her head on his chest as the two of them swayed softly to the distant song in perfect unison.
