175 Years

Paint Darts

"So, Mister Chambers started to.. Engage in your hobby with you, then?"

Macy strolled into the art classroom the following week. Also, the last art lesson Leo had promised her.

"What is all this?" Macy asked, placing her bookbag at the back of the classroom.

"Well," Leo was cleaning off what looked like darts for a dartboard. "I didn't want painting to come off to you as all boring technique, so I thought I should show you the fun side to it."

"Which is?"

Leo held a dart out to the girl. "Balloon darts. You see, I filled all the balloons on that canvas over there with paint. Now, all you have to do is take the first shot."

"And there's no catch?" Macy raised an eyebrow at Leo, unsure that was it to this 'technique'.

"No catch." He waved his hand for her to step up to the pitch.

Taking the first shot made Macy jump as the pop of the balloon was much more than she expected. Blue paint splattered all over the canvas and the tarp underneath it. Macy found the chaos of the game relieving, as she grabbed another dart and aimed for a different colored balloon.

Leo's eyes twinkled as he watched her have her fun, joining in after a few moments.

Together, they threw darts at the canvas, continuously popping multi-colored balloons.

"Hey! I was going for that balloon!" Macy shoved Leo off balance.

"Oh no, you might want to stand b—"

Before Leo could finish his sentence, Macy had aggressively hurled her dart towards the canvas right into an overfilled balloon. Paint exploded everywhere like a firework. All over the floor, completely missing the tarp. In the girl's hair.

Macy turned to Leo to find his face splattered with pink paint.

Busting out laughing, she quickly grabbed a towel. "Oh my God, I am so sorry." Macy couldn't hold back the tears of laughter as she tried to wipe away the paint from Leo's face with the towel. "That was stupid. I made a mess—"

"Don't worry about it." He interrupted her, smirking and taking the towel from her hands, which had been carefully wiping paint from his skin.

Macy hadn't realized their close proximity until Leo tugged the towel out of her hand.

"It's just paint," He whispered, momentarily dipping his face closer to hers before stepping back.

Once they were distanced, Macy felt herself let out a breath she didn't know was holding. Exhausted, she took a seat at one of the desks.

"So, you know a major secret of mine, but I feel like I know nothing about you.." Macy said as Leo took a seat in a desk across from her.

"There's not much to know. I moved here with my father. He wanted a fresh start to life." He said, irony dripping in his voice.

"What does your father do?"

"Well.. It's kind of.. Hard to explain. He—"

The door burst open, blocking out any words Leo had or would have said.

"Leo! I didn't see you at lunch, and I was super worried about you." A girl with long red hair came strolling in, taking a seat on his desk and wrapping her arms around him. Obviously not acknowledging Macy's presence.

Taken aback, Macy diverted her attention to her water bottle awkwardly.

"I told you I would see you later," He said to the girl, placing his hand on her knee.

"Yes, but now is later." The girl said.

Macy turned away as the girl dropped her face down the Leo's. Internally fighting with herself, she decided that if she moved quietly enough she could sneak out without being detected.

Thankfully, within a few moments, she escaped the incessant whispering between the couple and stepped out into the musky hallway air.

Nearing the bike rack, she noticed Sophia's bike was already gone, meaning her best friend had gone home for the day. And now here she was, alone with her last art session ending miserably.

As Macy was about to kick off on her bike, she heard her name being called.

"Macy, hey!" Leo jogged up to her, his hair being the most disheveled she had ever seen it. She wondered if it was from the wind or something else.

"Sorry, I left without saying goodbye. It was just—"

"Don't worry about it." He shook his head, dismissing the whole event. "Will I see you tomorrow?"

"I thought it was a three lesson deal..?"

"I guess I just thought you wouldn't give up on it so easily."

Macy bit back a smile at the thought of spending more time with Leo. He had come to be a familiar partner. He was one of the few people she no longer felt nervous around. Being around him almost felt like being home.

"Tomorrow then?"

"I'll see you." Leo said, as Macy finally kicked off to ride home.

She had never sped home faster. All she could think about was what Sophia's reaction might be.