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I huff with annoyance and climb up the stairs to my room. As far as I can tell, once I’m up the staircase, Silas starts an interrogation. “So, Léo, what intentions do you have with my sister?” I chuckle and grab a purple backpack from the closet. I start packing. I’m going, whether Silas says so or not. I sigh after packing what I need. I open my window and crawl through, dropping to the ground silently. Silas, who’s facing Léo, doesn’t see me. I motion for Léo to come, and he says, “O-oh, I’ve gotta go- my mom needs me. I told her I would drop by about this time.” Silas sighs and goes back to his cooking. “Okay… See ya…” He says.

His… mom? That’s a terrible excuse, he doesn’t have a mom… Does he?




***




I sit behind the bush in our front yard, waiting for Léo. He comes out of the front door. “Okay, ready to go?”

“Yeah, I gotta pack, though.” He says, walking out to the dirt pathway. I follow him to an adorable mushroom cottage that looks magical, almost. Almost. “Well, welcome to my house.” He shrugs. “It’s not much.”

“I like it,” I say, smiling at the little red mushroom house, “I think it’s cute.” I notice that pink, blue, and purple flowers surround the house.

“I’m going to warn you, my little sister is half faerie, so don’t expect everything to not be covered in the faerie dust.” He says, unlocking the door. “Léonardoooooo!” A cute high-pitched voice squeaks. The voice almost sounds musical. “You’re back- and you brought a girl! Oh, I see how it is… I’ll leave you two alone, then.”

“Lilly, it’s not like that, I- She’s just my friend,” Léo says and turns to me. “Ah, well, have fun, I’m gonna go pack.” I give him a look that says, “Please don’t leave me here…” He freezes and winces. “What? Why is your voice so… loud? I didn’t even see your mouth moving… Oh gosh…” He bites his lip and his tone gets serious. “Lilly, make our guest a snack, I need to talk to her.” Lilly nods and runs to the kitchen. Léo takes my hand and leads me through the dining room, a small ornate wooden table and three– wait, three? –matching chairs sit on a dark wooden floor. The doorways are all round, and there are no doors, except for a pink door which I assume leads to Lilly’s room. He leads me up a set of wooden stairs and into another room, which is nicely decorated – the walls have an intricate blue wallpaper, the bed that sits in the corner is neatly made, the pillows fluffed, and everything. He shuts the door and motions for me to sit down on a large turquoise pillow. “Okay,” he says, straightening the pillows on the bed before sitting down in front of me, “we’ve come across a… complication.”




***




I sigh, half ashamed. “I didn’t even know I could do that! I swear…” I look up when someone does a tap-tap-tap knock on the door. Léo looks up as well, his sandy blonde hair whipping around. “Léo, here’s your snack!” Lilly says, her voice tinged with longing… She must want to come in. “Leave it at the door, Lilly!” Léo says. “Can I come in?” She asks through the door, hope in her voice. “Give us a few moments alo-”

“Léo and Mercy, sitting in a tree, K-I-S-S-I-N-G!” Léo turns red, embarrassed. “Oh my gosh, I’m so sorry, Mercy.” Lilly thuds her fist on the door and stomps off. He starts to pack his bag, and I open the door to see a tray of chocolate chip cookies and two glasses of milk. He pulls a blue hoodie/sweatshirt out of his drawer. “Léo?” I ask, trying to break the silence. “Hmm?” He turns his head halfway and gives me an attentive look. “Yes?”

“What were you going to say?” I ask. He lets out a big breath he didn’t know he was holding. “You’re… Telepathic.”

“I’m pathetic?!” I scoff. “That’s mean!” He chuckles and shakes his head. “No,” He says, taking a bite of a chocolate chip cookie, “Telepathic means that you can transmit thoughts into my head, or, supposedly, read my mind!” He finishes, sipping his milk and stuffing another shirt into his backpack. “Oh, that’s why I heard all those voices!”

“What voices?”

“I heard voices… After I passed out.” He nods. “Exactly.” He brushes his shirt off, the cookie crumbs falling to the floor. “Ready to go?”




***




“Lilly, we’re leaving!” Léonardo shouts, sliding down the banister to the rounded doorway. “I’m coming with you!” Lilly protests, running into the dining room. Léo sighs and turns to me. “She can be like this.” He says, turning to me. “No, you’re not. It’s a big kid thing.”

“I’m a big kid!” Lilly whines.

“You’re not going. I’d hate myself if you got hurt.”

“Léonardo Lewis Crade!” The black-haired girl cries. Léo’s cheeks flush a deep red. “I thought we agreed never to use my full name in front of a guest.” He mutters to her. “You can come, just… Don’t say my full name anymore.” He seems… Self-conscious about his name… I wonder why… His pace quickens, and he sighs once he’s walking beside me. “So… Léonardo Lewis, huh?”

“Yeah… It’s stupid, I know… I don’t know what my mother was thinking when she named me.” He kicks the dirt. “I like it,” I chuckle, “It’s better than my name; Mercy Jane. I’m thinking about changing it to Mercy June.” Léo grins flirtatiously. “I think it’s cute either way… Like you.” I feel my cheeks heat up. He gives a simpered grin, and I chuckle. A few paces behind us, Lilly has started singing this song called “The Neverending Song”, and it. Goes. On. Forever. “Some people started singing it, not knowing what it was, and now they keep on singing it forever just because-”

“Okay, now, you will stop or I will glue your lips together,” Léo says. Lilly’s grin wavers. I chuckle. “He’s not going to, I promise,” I say. She relaxes at that. Léo walked faster, and I struggled to keep up. I trip on a tree root, and, what do you know, Léo’s there to catch me. I blush hard and step a few inches away (a “few” as in 8 inches). “So… How did your name become Lewis?”

“It’s Léonardo Lewis.”

“Picky, picky!” I tease, giggling. “Yeah, well, when I was young, I… changed my name.” He sighs, and his voice trails upward. He clears his throat to bring it down again. “Before Lilly was born… so I was… Ten…” My eyebrows narrow, worried and confused. “I changed it from Flynn Walker Crade to…”

“Léonardo Lewis…” I finished. “Yeah. And I regret it to this day.”

“Why did you change it in the first place? Can’t you change it back?”

“I was ten, okay?” His cheeks flush red in embarrassment. I chuckle. “And no, I can’t change it back.” He rolls up his long black-sleeved white T-shirt. I gasp. It’s a very detailed tattoo. It seems real but gives him no pain. It’s what he… changed his name from… Flynn Walker… “Is that…?”

“Yes. It is real.” He sighs. “And I can’t change it back unless I get permission from the high monarchs… And my name will be Léo until I can pull up the courage to talk to them.”

I trace the tattoo. “That’s why I brought you. Maybe you can slap some sense into me.” He chuckles. “I’m too chicken to go by myself.” He admits. I giggle and tease him, clucking like a chicken. “Bawk, bawk bawk bawk baaaaaw-”

“Okay, I get it!” He says through laughs. “Bawk.” He playfully swats me. I sigh and smile happily. Léo’s hand brushes the back of mine, and I blush.

Lilly, probably feeling the change in the atmosphere, inhales and starts singing, really loudly, “Léo and Mercy, sittin’ in a tree, K-I-S-S-I-N-G! First comes love, then comes marriage, then comes a baby in a–”

“Lilly!” Léo and I shout in unison. I and Léo turn scarlet at about the same time, looking into each other’s eyes. It’s Léo who speaks first. “Uhhhhhh, Lilly, she’s just my friend, okay? We’re not worrying about… future things.”

Yet, I think. Not yet.





(1398 words minus this)