Chasing Normal || Leondre Devries

Chapter 17

Evie and I decided to make brownies to cheer her up. It was the best idea I could come up with to get her out of bed. She finally obliged after ten minutes of me trying to convince her that she would be happier if we baked. Baking always made her happy.

While I was washing the dishes and she was licking the mixing spoon I told her the news about Leo's song. She froze immediately.

"Really?!" She was ecstatic. She bragged the rest of the night about the fact that she was an astounding lyricist. She refused to go to bed at her bedtime for the first time ever. She'd said, "celebrities don't have bedtimes!"

I probably should've corrected her, taught her a lesson on staying humble maybe, but I just laughed and let her stay up with me an extra hour while I FaceTimed Leo. She ended up falling asleep ten minutes into the call.

It was midnight by the time Leo and I figured out what to do. Now all we had left was to wait until his songs were processed, and then they'd be up on multiple platforms.

"Congratulations, baby," I said. A blush tinged his cheeks.

"Thank you, gorgeous."

I carried Evie to bed after saying goodnight to Leo and Charlie, who was snuggled up in bed next to him.

We planned to return to the closet the following day. I could finally get my closure. I could finally find myself and move forward. I was ready.

*****

I laid in bed for hours, just staring at the dark ceiling above me. There were points that I drifted in and out of sleep, but a slight tap of a branch on the window or a tiny creak in the wall would pull me out of it. I don't know why I was so nervous. It was like I didn't want to stop being the way I was.

I decided to tell myself that it was my subconscious mind wanting me to avoid any sort of change. I knew I needed to change the way I was going about life. I needed to reroute. I felt so behind. Leo had already plunged into a whole new journey, and I wanted that, too.

Since my dad died, I've felt settled. I didn't feel like I was young anymore. I tossed and turned in bed, just begging that going back to the janitor's closet would be like a slap in the face. I wanted to change. I needed to change.

*****

I sat at the kitchen table, my right leg bouncing out of nervousness. Why was I so nervous?

Evie was sprawled out on the couch, her favorite show playing on the TV. Leo was on his way. He was in a good mood. He'd called me in the morning for another squeal-session after he saw his new wave of followers that had come in overnight. He'd gained a decent amount on every platform at this point. Even his Instagram follower count had almost tripled. It was only a matter of time before somebody important found him. My heart fluttered at the thought of his smile after hanging up the phone with some sort of big company that wanted him. It'd probably be plastered across his face for days. Maybe weeks.

I jumped when the front door burst open. Evie had half the reaction I did. She turned her head slowly and skipped over to pull Leo into a hug. I stood up, feeling a bit weak in the knees. I was definitely overreacting.

"Are you ready to start a new chapter of the marvelous story of life, m'love?" He joked, even adding in a curtsy. I playfully hit his arm as he chuckled.

"We'll be home shortly, Eves. Don't burn the house down!" I called as I followed Leo out to his car, my hand in his.

He threw me a sympathetic smile as he backed out of the driveway.

"I'm way more nervous about this than I should be," I said, possibly searching for reassurance.

He reached over and rested his hand on my thigh, rubbing soothing circles through my jeans with his thumb.

"I get it, baby. It means a lot to you, and you want to change your life. It means a lot to me, too. Change is scary sometimes."

His voice alone was calming my racing heart.

"How are we going to get in without being seen?"

"Y/n, we skipped an entire year of class without getting caught and you're worried about getting caught now?" He had a point.

He pulled into the all-too familiar parking lot and parked the car. He looked over at me, his eyes studying my face.

"It'll be fine," he said. He waited for me in front of the car, holding his hand out for me to take. He laced our fingers together and swung our hands back and forth as we walked towards the back of the school. He was trying to calm me down.

I felt more confident about the 'not getting caught' part when we pulled in. The only people that would be in the school were the guidance department and... maybe... janitors...

I furrowed my eyebrows in confusion when Leo led us past the back entrance.

"It'll be locked. It's also too out in the open. The door over here is always unlocked, and it's right down the hall from the closet," he explained.

"And how do you know that?" I asked.

"Can't remember a day I wasn't at least five minutes late in the morning," he replied, a smirk spreading across his face.

Sure enough, his 'secret' door was unlocked. It hadn't even been that long since I'd last walked through this hallway, yet a wave of nostalgia still rippled inside of me.

"Ready?"