Freak

The two went into work shortly after their little talk with William. Neither said a word to the other, not because of anything either said to each other, but simply out of that silent, shared feeling of vagueness that had settled in their chests thanks to this newfound information.

William's father.

He, or at least the people who worked for him, had been the ones responsible for nearly killing Leo years ago. They had been the cause, the thing that had essentially spurred on this whole hectic mess Leonardo had himself wrapped up in now.

The people who had indirectly urged Oliver to believe that by simply knowing her, both Leo and Noah were at such a great risk of danger—as had evidently already been proven by Leo's near-death experience (of which he had no memory).

It was a mess. All of this was such a mess and though he honestly felt on the verge of another breakdown, Leo shoved it beneath his outer layer where it could hide away in his heart until he saw it a more fitting time.

He and Savannah performed as usual for the guests at the Fermata Pavilion. Their voices and music praised by guests and co-workers alike—and also, as usual, by Alex most of all. And maybe if Leo were in a better state of mind at the time, he could have appreciated his bubbly co-worker's kind words. But now all he could think of was getting home and talking to Oliver.

He knew he wouldn't have it in him to wake Oliver if the girl were resting, so he hoped with all his being that he would find Oliver conscious and talking to Noah or something. And for once fortune smiled on him.

Upon arriving with Savannah back to the apartment, Leo walked in on Oliver mindlessly watching television as Noah stood in the kitchen washing dishes—which, also, if he were in his right state of mind, Leo surely would have scolded his friend for doing. Instead, he approached the couch on which Oliver lay, guiltily ignoring Noah's 'welcome home' in the process.

"Oliver, were you friends with Riley?"

Direct and to the point. He stared accusingly at the blonde, who looked into Leonardo's face with concern, followed by some sort of bitter regret. Leo tensed before the other even spoke.

"I was," Oliver confessed. "After moving to Indianapolis I met her and we became quick friends...even though I was really tentative to make friends after everything that had happened."

"Then what's the deal with her?" Leonardo demanded. "Why doesn't she remember you? Why did you take her memories, too?"

"Because I found out she was dating Wilfred Monroe's son."

He didn't have to ask to know who Oliver was referring to. With a deep, trembling breath, Leo threw a worried glance over his shoulder at Savannah. "William goes to my college," he said after facing Oliver once again. "I've known him for a while, he's always been kind of a weirdo, but just today, he asked to speak with me, and he showed me pictures of you running from the people who were after you. He insists he's not working with his father...but I just..."

"I can't tell you who to and who not to trust, Leo," Oliver said solemnly. There was a strong presence of sadness in her voice though her efforts to hide it were just as clear. "I just didn't want to take any chances. I shouldn't have taken any chances back then, either, but I did, and look what happened..."

"We can't remember you, that's what happened!" Leo's outburst, an uncontrollable one from the heart, rattled his brain and he felt it, the first sign of a headache, or a dizzy spell, or perhaps both. But still he continued. "How did you even do it, anyway? What are you that you're even able to take our memories? To give me your blood?? What are you, Oliver Wood?!"

"A freak, I guess."

Noah had started to make his way over to the living room the moment Leo raised his voice—he had dealt with his friend and the boy's mood swings many a time before, so by now he knew what to do, but his feet stopped in their tracks at Oliver's disheartening reply. The whole room stopped, in fact. And everyone turned their eyes towards the blonde lying pitifully on the couch. No one said a word for what felt like a solid ten minutes. In reality, the time exaggerated itself in the minds of all, but in Leo's most of all.

"Oliver, I-...I'm sorry..."

Oliver gave a soft smile. "It's okay."

"No," Leo snapped back almost immediately. "No, no, it's not okay, Oliver, I-"

"You're stressed, Leo, I understand. If I were you, I'd call me a freak, too."

That choice of words. It dug beneath Leonardo's skin, burrowing like a wild animal down to the very depths of his being just to spit venom on his most vulnerable organ. It hurt. To the highest degree of the word, hearing these words rather than speaking them inflicted more pain than Leonardo knew how to bear. Guilt traveled through his veins. These veins which didn't carry just his blood.

"If I could tell you exactly what I was, I would," Oliver continued after a moment. "You wouldn't remember, but I wasn't born into the family I had in Seattle. I was adopted. Adopted by a young couple with a disgraceful reputation in our neighborhood, which is why your parents never approved of you and Noah hanging out with me. But my parents loved me, they accepted me, even after finding out about my blood. They never called me a freak. They told me I was beautiful, and I believed them for the longest time until I started to be hunted down."

Leo wanted to speak. He wanted to argue with Oliver, to say to her the same encouraging words Savannah had once said to him, but his mouth had been sealed shut by some indescribable force.

"I'm the freak, Leonardo, not you...you've just become a product of my mistakes. But you've always been beautiful regardless."

He couldn't move. No part of him, his legs, his mouth, not even the tears he sensed hiding like cowards behind his eyelids. Everything to Leonardo was frozen, as if the river of his blood had frozen up inside him, keeping him rooted in place just to stare at Oliver and suffer the feeling of doing so.

Eventually he felt Savannah take his hand again, and the girl's soothing voice urged him to go to his room to lie down. At this point Leo was helpless to argue. To do anything. So he allowed Savannah's arm to wrap around his waist and guide him to the bedroom.

And there, the cowardly tears showed themselves.

All at once, a dam bursting, though he struggled to muffle his own sobs by covering his mouth with his shaky hands.

Savannah reached out her own hands out to pull them away. And she held them as if they were made of fragile glass, caressing them with her fingers for a minute before doing the same to Leonardo's cheek. There were too many tears appearing at a fast rate to wipe away. She tried anyway.

"I'm such a screw-up, Annie..." Leo was visibly hesitant even to accept Savannah's soft touches. "Why am I this way? Why do I have to be afraid of everything?? Why can't I be more like you or, or like Noah?" He sniffled, which only seemed to trigger him to cry harder. "You guys have been through some crap, too, but you've got yourselves together-"

"Because of you," Savannah said quickly.

"No, that can't be it, because look at you now." A harsh, almost angered expression took form on Leonardo's face. "You guys are being rational, you're sensible and calm about what's going on, but I'm just breaking at everything, I'm scared to even breathe at this point-"

"And who says we're not scared?"

"Not like me, you're not like me."

"Leo, I'm just as scared as you." With a firm but kind touch, Savannah took Leo's face in her hands and stared deeply into his eyes—the fear was there. The uncertainty, the pain, and just about every negative emotion swirled into one storm centered over Leo's heart. "I'm just...as scared as you..." she said again. "I'm scared of something happening to you, I've always been, but you know what? I'm not gonna let that happen. I'm not gonna let anything bad happen. At least nothing I can't fix."

"But what if something happened to you?" That heartbroken tone that twisted Savannah's stomach was back. "Annie, if something happens to you, I don't know what I'd do-"

"I survived the first time, didn't I?"

Offering a warm smile, she took one of Leo's hands to touch her bruised lip. Then on his own, Leo touched the other bruises delicately. His lips quivered. He moved his hand towards the nape of Savannah's neck only to bring her closer until there was no space between them. He kissed Savannah, and the other reciprocated, tasting the salty tears that had gathered around the boy's mouth—a sad taste, but she loved it because it was Leonardo.

Being able to be here for Leo was everything to her.

She combed her fingers through Leo's hair, humming softly in a way that was relaxing to her as she nipped at the boy's bottom lip. At this, the boy pulled back his head, shy, his cheeks dusted in lavender. Savannah smiled.

"We're gonna be okay, baby." She pecked her boyfriend's lips again. "I believe William. But if it turns out he was lying, you can bet I'll be the first one he'll answer to. So just relax, okay? You, and even Oliver and Noah, too...I'll take care of all of you if I have to. To put a smile on your face."

"Annie?"

"Yeah?"

"I love you."