Chapter Eighteen: Leo’s Redemption Arc

The weekend felt like an eternity to Leo. Every hour, he found his thoughts drifting back to Adrian—wondering where he was, what he was doing, if he was even thinking about Leo at all. It felt like he was stuck in some endless loop, a place between hope and despair. He had tried to move forward, but there was always that weight, that unresolved knot in his chest.

Leo spent the weekend buried in schoolwork, trying to keep busy, to keep his mind occupied. But when Monday came around, the nagging feeling didn't go away. He couldn't keep living in this limbo. He had to do something. He had to make things right, even if it meant facing his own mistakes.

The bell rang, signaling the start of the school day, and Leo made his way to his locker. He was still running on less than four hours of sleep, but it didn't matter. He was focused. Determined.

As he shuffled through the hallway, he saw a flash of familiar dark hair at the end of the corridor—Adrian. For a moment, time seemed to slow down. Leo's heart leapt in his chest, and he stopped in his tracks. Adrian was standing with a group of people, laughing at something one of them had said, his usual confident, carefree smile in place.

It was like nothing had changed.

Leo's throat tightened. He felt a pang of frustration, a sharp stab of hurt. Adrian looked... fine. No signs of the turmoil that had made him disappear. But Leo knew better than to assume everything was fine on the surface.

His instincts told him to turn away, to leave before Adrian could notice him. But something inside him snapped. He couldn't just watch from the sidelines anymore. Not after everything.

Taking a deep breath, Leo pushed himself forward, weaving through the crowd of students until he was standing in front of Adrian.

Adrian stopped mid-laugh, his eyes locking with Leo's, surprise flickering across his features. "Leo? What are you doing here?"

The words came out before Leo could think. "We need to talk."

Adrian raised an eyebrow, glancing around as if weighing his options. "Now?" He seemed uneasy, but he didn't move away.

Leo nodded, his voice steady. "Yeah. Now."

Adrian hesitated for a moment, then glanced back at his friends, who were looking on curiously. He gave them a short, dismissive wave. "I'll catch up with you guys later."

Once they were alone, Leo tried to ignore the weight of Adrian's gaze on him, focusing instead on what he needed to say.

"Adrian…" Leo started, feeling his heart race. "I know I messed up. I shouldn't have let you walk away the way I did. And I shouldn't have kept acting like I could just forget about everything that's happened between us."

Adrian crossed his arms, his expression unreadable. "Leo, I—"

"No. Let me finish." Leo cut him off, his frustration rising, but this time it wasn't directed at Adrian. It was directed at himself. "I've been running from this whole situation, and I know that now. I've spent so much time questioning you, questioning us, that I didn't stop to think about what I wanted. What I really wanted."

Adrian's eyes softened ever so slightly, but he didn't interrupt.

"I've been scared," Leo admitted, his voice quieter now. "Scared that if I let myself feel anything for you, I'd lose it. Or that I'd ruin it. I didn't want to care, because caring meant risking something I wasn't ready to lose. But I do care. More than I've ever cared about anyone in my life."

Even Ethan, Adrian asked.

The words hung in the air between them, and for a moment, neither of them moved.

Leo shifted on his feet, looking away, unsure if Adrian even understood what he was trying to say. But before he could say anything more, Adrian stepped forward, closing the space between them.

"You know," Adrian said, his voice surprisingly soft, "you've got a funny way of showing you care."

Leo looked up at him, confused. "What do you mean?"

Adrian shook his head, a small smile tugging at the corners of his lips. "I spent all this time pushing you away because I was scared of getting hurt. I shut you out because I was afraid you'd leave if you knew the truth. If I let you get too close, I thought I might lose you, too."

Leo's heart skipped a beat. "What truth?"

Adrian's smile faltered, and his eyes darkened for a brief second. "I've been a mess, Leo. I'm not good at this—at relationships, at opening up. I've been running from everything that matters because I'm terrified of not being enough."

Leo felt something shift inside him. The walls that Adrian had built around himself, the cool, detached façade—it was all a mask, a defense against his own vulnerability. It was the same thing Leo had been doing, all along.

"I get it now," Leo said quietly. "I get why you did what you did. I've been running from my feelings too."

Adrian looked at him, a flicker of hope in his eyes. "Then why the sudden change?"

Leo swallowed hard. "Because I don't want to run anymore. Not from you, not from myself. I've spent too long living in fear, and it's time I stop letting it control me."

Adrian's gaze softened, and for the first time, Leo saw the uncertainty in him, the same uncertainty that had plagued him for weeks. It wasn't just fear—it was raw, real vulnerability.

"I don't know what this is, Leo," Adrian said, his voice low. "But I know I don't want to be afraid of it anymore."

Leo stepped closer, his pulse racing. "We don't have to have all the answers right now. But maybe we can try… try to figure it out. Together."

Adrian hesitated, then slowly nodded. "Together."

There was a long, quiet moment between them, and for once, it felt like everything was falling into place. The pieces of their complicated, messy connection were starting to align, not perfectly, but just enough. Leo wasn't sure what the future held, but for the first time in a long time, he wasn't afraid of it.

He wasn't afraid of Adrian.

As the bell rang, signaling the start of the next class, Leo and Adrian exchanged a small, tentative smile. There were no grand confessions, no perfect moments. But there was something deeper—something real—starting to grow between them.

And for the first time, Leo felt like maybe—just maybe—he was ready to face it.