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Part XII: 1988- End of Innocence
"She did. Even said she'd give me a lift to St. Mary's tomorrow."
She noted Leo's embarrassment and said, "It does look nice."
"Oh, er, thank you," Leo nodded, "It...is what it is."
Jimmy turned back to her, "Well, Audrey...guess this is goodbye for now. Hope you get your business settled."
-Leo and Jimmy
"Goodnight to you, Jimmy," She replied, giving him a smile.
"Take care of yourself," he nodded, "Wouldn't look good if something happened to ya and all anyone at that party could remember was you got up on my bike," he turned to Leo, "And you...behave."
"Only if you do," Leo rolled his eyes.
Scratching Lycas between the ears one last time, Jimmy started up the path and out of sight. Leo turned to Jamie, "He thinks he's very smart, you know."
-Jimmy and Leo
"Good looking, but not a lot going on upstairs?"
"Upstairs?" Leo seemed tripped up by the euphemism, but he nodded after a short time, "Oh, right. No, he's...not dumb. But still...not as smart as he thinks," he gave Jamie a look, "You think he's good looking?"
-Leo
"Yeah," She nodded, "I think he is."
Leo flushed, starting along the trail, "My mother thinks he's trouble, but she thinks everybody's trouble, so it's easy to ignore her. Really, I think she likes him a lot. He's...uh, about the only friend I have."
His brow furrowed, "He's a good person. Or he wants to be. Sometimes, you know...it can be hard. Things get in the way. Or sometimes we do."
-Leo
"I know all about that."
The cat came to her, and started rubbing her leg, begging for affection. Jamie obliged with more scratches.
She sighed, "It's getting a bit late. Think we should head in?"
"It's not far," said Leo softly. Briefly, he looked as though he wanted to say more, but the idea died on his lips.
***
"Before you go," Mrs. Lakotos put a staying hand on Jimmy's shoulder, "Here, for you," with her other hand, she held out a satchet, "Lavender, chamomile..."
"The usual?" Jimmy finished for her.
"You know what to do?"
"Oh, right, thanks, yeah."
"I've long since given up expecting politeness from you," she cocked an eyebrow, repeating, "You know what to do?"
He nodded, "No worries. And...really, thanks. Seriously, it...it means a..."
"Ah," she held up a hand to shush him, "And here, for your sister..." she plucked a few leaves from a plant in the garden, "Just in case."
"You know she'd punch me in the throat if I gave her this stuff?"
"You could do with a good punching. Anyway, she can't be too careful, the life she lives."
"I'll be sure to selectively edit that out," he pocketed the leaves all the same, "It's been real, Mrs. L."
He walked down the path to the road. The sound of his bike receding was still audible when Jamie and Leo returned.
"There you are," Mrs. L greeted them brusquely, "Leandro, you will show her to your room."
"Right."
The older woman gave him a lingering sort of look passed between them, but neither said anything else.
-Leo, Mrs. L, and Jimmy
Jamie followed Leo to the room, amazed that there was actually more rooms in the small building.
As they reached it, she asked, "Your mom mentioned a sleeping bag?"
"There's one by my bed, that Jim uses when he stays over," Leo held open the bedroom door, "Unless you'd rather take my bed. We practice xenia here. My mother would kill me otherwise."
-Leo
"I'll take the bag," Jamie said, taking it from under the bed and unrolling it.
"It's not my first time sleeping on hard surfaces."
"If you say so," he leaned out the window, taking a deep breath of the night air. He was quiet for a few minutes, running his tongue over his teeth.
Leo's bedroom was sparely decorated. A few posters adorned the wall: the Smiths, Pixies, R.E.M, and a few others, spelled out in Greek lettering. There was a calendar of the stars above the bed, and on the ceiling above, a depiction of the zodiac constellations that appeared to have been hand panted.
"I'm sorry if I'm not the best company," he said at last, "I'm not as...fun as Jimmy. I'm not really used to," he tossed the word around before saying it, "...friendliness."
-Leo
"Leo, you're not the worst company I've ever had."
Her former cell mate had that privilege.
"And...I am sorry."
"Oh, don't be," Leo turned away from the window, "I try not to mind it. Some people just need a punching bag, and I was the one God gave them."
-Leo
She clicked her tongue, considering the words.
"A couple of my friends had that dubious honor, in my hometown...and well, one of them close to crossing the line because of it."
Leo folded his arms, "What stopped them? Your friend, I mean."
-Leo
"Well, I wasn't there at the time," She'd been in the county jail when it had happened, but she should have seen the signs, "But from what I heard...she fell in love. And the fear of dragging her special person into it stopped her."
"That must be nice," Leo said at length, "Having a person like that," his fingers drummed against the windowsill, "It needs to be a special person, to carry that responsibility," he looked off into the middle distance, "You don't think it's selfish? Putting all that on someone?"
-Leo
"Could be," She shrugged, "You have an extra pillow?"
"Here," he tossed his own, "Like I said: xenia."
-Leo
"Thank you," She curled inside the bag, and asked, "What time do you guys normally get up?"
"With the crack of dawn," Leo said at once, dropping lightly onto the bed, "Gypsies have an unearned reputation as lazy slobs."
-Leo
"I'll see you then," Jamie yawned, "Goodnight, John-Boy."
"John..." Leo paused, shaking his head, "Right. Goodnight...Audrey."
With a little smile, he switched off the lamplight and shut his eyes to sleep.
***
Quinn staggered his way to the terrace, the consequences of winning too many games of beer pong finally catching up with him. He felt like he had to throw up, but he didn't want to risk doing it in front of all these people, not with the class election on the line. Maybe he could get away with it out there...
He passed by Kirk, who was briskly walking out of the pool room. "Yo, yo, yo! If it ain't the devil! Give me five!" He raised up his hand, only to receive a curt, "Not now." from Kirk, who had already vanished down the hallway. "Fine, jerkus." Quinn said with a scowl, finally making it to the terrace.
Now to play the waiting game... He leaned against the railing, trying to work up the nerve to vomit up all of his guts.
"Devlin," Fitz scoffed airily, drawing up beside Quinn, "What's his damage? That's what I'd like to know," he put his hands on the railing, cocking one leg to the side in an almost coquettish approximation.
"It was an interesting party, but I don't think I was much fun," he said at last, "Still, Quinn, it was ace of you to invite me. Very ace indeed."
-Fitz
Quinn turned to find Fitz show up at his side. "As if. You were killin' it tonight. I swear, all the chicks here were just jonesing to get into be with you, which makes sense. I don't make friends with losers. And you, Fitz..." He stifled some barf. "You're no loser."
"It is true that they were screaming my name."
Well, they'd been screaming his initials. Not very kindly either. Fitz cleared his throat, "I don't want to be a loser. But I know the only reason I'm at a party like this is because you, er..." his nose twitched spasmodically, "Stuck up for me."
-Fitz