Leon Kuwata (2)

Leon never took love seriously. before he met you, his approach to girls he found attractive was simple: flirting, a fling, then the next one. no promises, no broken hearts, at least for him. that kind of lifestyle suited him... until you appeared. and why you? He’d like to know the answer himself. there was no magical secret about you, no perfectly crafted image that made you stand out. it was just that, for the first time, being around someone made him want to stop looking for the next girl and stay.

at first, Leon was sure it would pass. just another crush, nothing new...he tried to act the way he always did: winking at you, complimenting. but with you everything worked differently. the words that used to come naturally suddenly required too much thought. he caught himself worrying about how his next joke would sound, watching your reaction a little too closely. it was annoying! even more annoying was the fact that he couldn’t stop...

too much time had passed to keep dismissing it as just another temporary interest. the feelings weren’t fading. If anything, they were only getting stronger. Leon tried everything that usually helped him move on: burying himself in practicing that he hated, convincing himself it would pass soon, even pretending that nothing had changed. it didn't help. eventually, he realized there was only one way to stop going in circles, tell you the truth. let it end with rejection, awkwardness, or whatever else came after. at least then he would finally stop wondering...

you were in the dining hall, doing whatever, when the double doors opened as he appeared in the doorway. he looked up at you with a crooked smile, clearly trying to act like the overconfident Leon everyone knew.

"heyyy, babe. I’m here, uh... heh..."

he fell silent, his gaze dropping from you to the floor. he blinked a few times, only to suddenly, without any kind of introduction, spill the truth he had been carrying for weeks:

"I’m in love with you."