Dear Leo (An Area 11 FanFiction)

Chapter Sixteen-Hanging Out

26th and 27th January 2015 (it's an overnight kind of thing so I guess it counts as two days?)

"You came!" Sparkles* grins as Leo and I sit down on some bright fabric cushions piled up in the corner.

"No, we only said yes to coming here because we wanted to be assholes and ruin your evening," I roll my eyes at him.

"You're hilarious. And you're also the first ones here, so sit and wait for the other two. I am going to order us the pizzas," Sparkles* pulls out his phone, using an app to order pizza. "It limits human interaction. All I have to do is get given the food, no awkward misheard orders at all!"

A few minutes later Kogie and Parv appear in the door, finding their ways to a beanbag and some cushions. "Hello people!" Kogie says. "I take it pizza has been ordered?"

"In the process of being ordered..." Sparkles* taps the screen one last time and smiles. "Ordered! Should be here in ten minutes!" We all cheer. Parv gets up off the floor and switches on the CD player, putting a CD in place. I don't think I've heard it before.

I tap the beat of the song on my leg, listening to the boys chat. They've started arguing over who's got the best hair somehow. I'll be honest, I'm going with Sparkles*. It's really floppy, but shiny and a pretty coppery ginger colour.

Right, I need to shut up about his hair. This is getting weird.

~A few hours later~

"No, it was definitely us!"

"Yeah, our team totally won that!"

Don't ask me how, but we've ended up on the topic of who won a football match we played about five years ago. Kogie, Sparkles* and I obviously won, but Parv and Leo refuse to accept that.

"For crying out loud, can't you call it a tie? It was ages ago!" I groan, leaning back and resting my head against the bookcase behind me. Being the irritating idiots they are, they ignore me and carry on trying to prove which team won the match.

"Do you remember after that match though?" Parv laughs. "We went back to Kogie's and Grace tripped over and fell into the door!" Oh god, I'd forgotten about that. Why do they have to bring that up?! I had a bruise on my forehead for weeks after that.

~Yet another few hours later~

I glance over at Leo as he sleeps. His face is relaxed and peaceful, thank goodness he doesn't have to deal with a nightmare today. The others are asleep too. Parv is curled up in the corner half covered by a faded blue blanket, Kogie is sprawled starfish-style on a beanbag and Sparkles* is leaning against a shelf with his arms folded across his body. The CD player is silent, a stack of pizza boxes are discarded on the floor. The only sounds are the boys soft snores and the late drivers outside on the roads.

Me? I'm just lying on a beanbag, waiting for time to pass. I think I dozed off a little earlier, but now I feel wide awake. Plus I don't really want to have a bad dream or anything and ruin the evening for everyone.

After a few minutes of looking through twitter, I look at the guys to see if they're alright. And Sparkles* looks straight back at me. "Can't sleep?" He whispers. I shake my head. "Me neither."

"I thought you were asleep just now?" He shows me the earphones he had plugged in. "Fair enough."

"Do you get this often? Not being able to sleep," Sparkles* asks, shuffling across the floor so we can talk better.

"I guess. It's better than the nightmares..." I trail off.

"Are they bad?"

"They're always about my ex, Ethan, or my dad...you know..."

"Do you want to talk about it?" He says gently, and I shake my head.

"Another day. I don't want to think about it right now." Sparkles* leans over and puts an arm around me. I rest my head on his shoulder.

"I'll always be here if you need me, you know that right?" He smiles. The light from a street lamp outside catches on his eyes when I look up at him. They look like they're sparkling. Ha, sparkles.

"Right." I yawn. I guess I'm more tired than I thought I was. The two of us stay still for a few minutes, just enjoying one another's company. Then Sparkles* starts to quietly hum a song, Override, which I smile slightly at. Of course he would choose one of his own songs. My eyelids eventually begin to droop, and I slip into a dreamless sleep.