Little Wonders [Closed]

Leo hated flying. As in flying in an airplane. It was terrible. He could feel every bump the plane made, and in general everything seemed cramped to the point where Leo felt like breathing into one of those vomit bags in the seat pocket in front of him. Luckily, Keirsta had given Leo the window seat, so he didn’t actually go through with what he felt like doing. In retrospect, he felt bad for making her sit next to some random person on the plane. Again, that was in retrospect, Leo was too busy with his face pressed against the window, mentally begging for freedom. His thought process was that the window would keep him sane, the cold kept him feeling at least like he was in the air. Only on his forehead that is.

It was a short plane ride in comparison to the Alaskan trip.  But in that flight, he could feel the wind, and they weren’t going as fast or high up. Speaking of the Alaska trip, the blond repositioned his arm, which was still sore from having it being sliced open. He still couldn’t use it quite right, so Leo had stopped lifting weights in order for it to heal properly. He didn’t want to mess up the muscle, it was still healing.

An arm reached for the air above him, twisting the nob to where it continuously sent a blast of air at his face. Did it help? Not much. But every little bit seemed to count. The blonds thoughts only on the clouds they passed by and exactly how long the plane ride was going to last. Two hours and five minutes the computer said it would take them. It felt longer than that already.

The problem Leo had with this plane was that there was little to no leg room at all, and the seats were pushed together in order to cram as many people as the airline could into one flight. While it wasn’t supposed to be a packed flight, it seemed that all of the passengers had decided to be seated around he and Keirsta. Maybe it was just his eyes playing tricks on him. It just felt that way.

As soon as they got to a cruising altitude, it seemed as if the guy in front of Leo wanted to make his life worse. He leaned the seat back, getting a bit of surprise from the blond, and a bit of anger. Normally Leo wouldn’t mind it, but right now, in this already tight space, Leo thought he was going to suffocate. That’s not how he wanted to go down. His eyes sending a heated glare at the back of the seat before turning back to the small window. The entire flight for let was his face staring out of the window longingly.

Thankfully, the plane began it’s decent, relief flooding through the angel. They were going to be getting off soon, and he could get out of this god damn plane. The glee switched into a moment of fear when the plane began skimming the treetops, and landing roughly on the runway. Leo’s hand gripped Kiersta’s own, blue eyes staring in front of himself in an effort to keep calm. He honestly didn’t remember how much pressure he put on her hand, but he was sure it wasn’t a light amount. Since it was a rather small airport it didn’t take long for the flight to connect to the gate, and the seat belt sign went dim, the blond stood up, ready to leave this hell.

The open air of the airport let Leo’s tense shoulders a bit or a relax. The flight had been a bit stressful for Leo. Which was why when he first went to Beata, he had drove a car there with his dad. While it had taken a long time, he’d much rather take the time to drive there than fly there. Leo’s trademark grin reappeared on his face as he spun around in front of the gate, a bit of laughter bubbled up inside of him.

Ceasing his joyful spin, the blond turned to the pink haired girl. ”Let’s go~” They followed the signs to get out of the gates and into the waiting areas outside of security. Leo’s blue eyes scanned the crowd, obviously looking for someone.

Directly to Leo and Keirsta’s left, was a Bells Brewery, a local brewed beer company. In front of them was a hallway down to baggage claim and the parking garages. To the right of that was the two restrooms, and even to the right of that was a playroom for children. From where Leo and Keirsta stood, there were two rows of seats for people who were waiting for arrivals, the chairs a black leather kind. The ones that one would find in many airports around the world.

A flash of yellow in the corner of Leo’s vision caused the boy to glance to the left. There stood an almost exact replica of Leo. Only, well, older, taller and shorter hair. The man’s own eyes had been looking through the crowd, before catching his son’s eyes. One of the perks of having bright hair, Leo supposed. Slipping his right hand into Keirsta’s left, he guided her through the crowd, something they both were used to if they lived in a high school 24/7. The two had bright smiles, although Leo’s was a fraction bigger. Once they were safely out of the crowd, Leo let his hand slip from his girlfriend’s.

Arms suddenly embraced Leo, as his father bent down to give him a hug. Although, what Leo realized was that he didn’t have to bend down as much as he did last time he saw him.

The man turned to the girl the same smile on his face. Of course, he made no move to hug her, unsure of what she was like with physical contact.  Michael didn’t want to start things off on the wrong foot anyways.  ”You must be Keirsta. My son has told me a lot about you.” He gave Leo a sideways glance. The person in question tried his best not to let a blush show, and instead turned around, pretending to be looking at the brewery. Patting his son’s head passively, he continued. ”You can call me Michael, or Mr. Herman. Whatever you are most comfortable with.”

Flight from Bismark, North Dakota to Grand Rapids, Michigan
Elapsed flight time - 2 hours, 5 minutes
Flight Class - Coach
Current time - 8:54 A.M.

Flying had never been a problem for Keirsta. She enjoyed it, and it just felt like a somewhat short, and cramped car ride. It was just a lot of people. To say she was claustrophobic was a joke, but to say she enjoyed a crowd was also one. She hated being by people she didn’t trust. Oh well, the life of a chaotic high school seemed to calm her down a bit. If she had her choice, she would have blasted a few faces… But if she did, it’d be straight to the government for testing for her. Not something she wanted to do, exactly.

Two hours had never taken so long in Keirsta’s life, ever. She had planned for a weeks time vacation away from the Academy, and it would be hopefully a week well spent. She needed a break so badly, and so when Leo had decided to bring her along on his trip which he had won from the Summer tournament, she was overjoyed. It meant a week of no homework, no prefect duties, and no parties. There was another side to it though, she was still slightly depressed from her alcohol ban. Her subconscious hoped this would perk her up though, as it was desperately needed.

It felt like forever though, because Leo hated flights. It made things so much more worse, as she had planned for the flight to be simple. Done and over with in a short time, but sadly, no. That wouldn’t work. She had to constantly reassure Leo that everything would be alright, and eventually she gave up hope. She had taken out her father’s prehistoric iPad, and had played one of the oldest games ever, Five Nights at Freddy’s. Why? Because she had nothing else to do and needed a good shock.

After awhile though, things had surely gotten boring. The assholes around her weren’t making things any better though, and so once and awhile she had stood up to stretch… Even if she wasn’t supposed to. Fuck the police, eh? That was her philosophy for the time being. They couldn’t hurt her if she didn’t hurt them. Which, would be a bit of a struggle.

She had surely lost her temper more than once, having to throw on headphones to block out the noises of her surroundings. A lot of families flying with crying babies, which annoyed her. Of course she could understand that they were fussy, but when they would neglect them? Made her want to take a brick to the parents’ head.

Then there was the chewing. Oh man, the fact that they had sat some large guy beside her with millions of candy bars made her pissed beyond belief. He just flung them off to the side, and more than once she glared at him. Yeah, she was ticked off easily in these situations… Most likely it was because she was pretty antsy.

She was excited, but she also was annoyed. The flight had kicked off with somewhat of a rocky start, and it wasn’t all that much fun to have that happen. She kept an eye on Leo, of course, but the people surrounding her were just plain jerks. When the guy had leaned back on an already freaking out Leo, she had reached over and flipped the bar on the back of the chair which put it straight up. That gave her a laugh, and an innocent look was shot at him when he glared back. ”Seat malfunction.” Was all she had said, leaning back in her own uncomfortable chair afterwards and chuckling beyond belief.

As soon as Leo had started squeezing Keirsta’s hand, she was panicking somewhat. He had an iron grip, and it hurt. If she had a bruise on her hand the next day she wouldn’t be that surprised, because it was painful. She didn’t know things were that bad for Leo. Yes, the wings of the plane brushed trees which threw it off balance… But still, he didn’t need to squeeze her hand that hard. She had shut her eyes pretty tightly to help with the pain shooting through her hand because of it.

When Leo had let go, she had instantly brought her hand up to her chest and was rubbing it. She wasn’t exactly one to notice that it was time to go, and so when everyone had started standing up she was a little confused. But only for a moment. She was almost as ready to get out of the living nightmare as Leo was.

Turning the knob to open up the carry-on compartment, Keirsta grabbed the navy satchel inside and promptly shut the compartment quickly after. She put all the stuff she had dragged out inside of it away, but kept the headphones around her neck. Tightening back up the hairtie she had keeping her hair up, she waited for most of the people to go before she started to leave.

The blast of cold air from entering the airport made Keirsta relieved. When she looked around the area though, a frown pursed her lips. There was a brewery. A brewery! Any other day this would make her jump for joy, but today… It just made her depressed. Immediately she was ready to plot a grand escape to at least get a sample of the beer they had. She was desperate for a drink at that point, and she had to even let Leo check her bags to make sure she didn’t smuggle any with her.

Making sure Leo gripped her other hand this time, she followed him quickly through the crowd. It wasn’t that big of a deal, Beata was busier than this. Then again, Beata was a place where you knew where you were going and got there quickly. Here? She didn’t know, she could only trust Leo.

Biting her lip as Leo kept dragging her towards some place, she had no idea where they were going until her eyes had spotted who she had to presume was his father. Pretty much, an older Leo. When his hand slipped from her own, she still walked a few paces closer to keep from being swept away. To say the least though, she still was a little nervous to be in front of Leo’s father.

Putting on a smile to see the two happy to be united, she kept that one hand close to her side as she moved out of the way for a few people who were passing by. Man, this place was a lot busier then she had expected. A lot busier.

When Leo’s father mentioned her name, she looked back towards him with her kind smile. ”Yes, that’s me… I hope he’s said good things.” She shot her own glance off towards Leo, hoping he didn’t mention her struggle with alcohol. Which, wasn’t made any better as she could smell the beer. ”It’s nice to meet you, Mr. Herman.” She had extended her hand formally to shake his, and she was still a little wary on what to do. Keirsta had taken the choice on calling him Mr. Herman though, because she had been raised with the philosophy that you call an adult by Mr., Ms., or Mrs., as it was just proper. She was still only 16, and so she wasn’t able to call him properly by his first name. Just by personal preference, though.

”So… Should we get going? I hope things don’t get any busier.” She was hoping this because she’d be swarmed by people if it did. She had honestly been looking forward to getting some space while being away from the crowds of people dying to talk to her. It had loosened up since she had became a prefect, but since they knew she wasn’t the, ‘I’ll beat the rules down on you’ type of person, it still was pretty heavy traffic when she passed to classes.

The father laughed as he shook her hand. "All good things, I promise." Although, all Leo had said that made him curious was to remove any alcohol from the house, or at least hide it. Removing his hand from Keirsta's, Michael slipped them in the pockets of his vest. Nodding, he beckoned the two away from where they stood, strolling towards baggage claim. After a long few minutes of waiting for the bag, and small talk between Leo and his dad, the buzzer sounded and the bags began to roll out.

It was an extra few minutes before the two found their baggage and were able to leave the airport. By now, Leo had caught his father up on most of what happened. Leaving out the part of the Alaskan trip where he nearly killed his friend of course. That wasn't something that needed to be brought up. Although, his group continued to argue that it wasn't just Leo that had hurt Devin. He still felt terrible.

Once they stepped out of the airport, the trio were hit with a blast of humidity, and a cloudy white sky. "Ugh! Is it going to rain while we are here?" Leo couldn't help but ask, glairing up at the sky above.

"Hm, let me check." His hand slipped into his back pocket and turned on his phone, voice asking Siri; "What is the weather for Big Rapids, Michigan?" There was a moment of quiet before it replied.

'Overcast with a 90% chance of thunderstorms and heavy rain.'

Both father and son sighed at the thought of rain.

"Ya know, I was wanting to go tubing down the river, but I guess we can't then." Leo grumbled, dragging along his suitcase. Shaking off his disappointment, Leo put a smile on his face. "I'm sure we'll find something to do~"

They soon reached the car, a black ford edge, a rather old car, but it still works, and looks fine. Taking Keirsta's suitcase for her, he packed it in the back before lifting his own inside as well. Leo's own bag was smaller than Keirsta's as he had clothes at his house. Although, he had grown a bit, so there was no promises for Leo that they'd all fit.

As soon as they had gotten in the car, the trio began their hour drive to Big Rapids. Leo sat next to Keirsta in the back, not wanting to leave her alone back there. His father made a snarky comment about driving Ms. Daisy before turning on the radio. Now only to get comfortable...

As they had gone through the airport, countless times the girl tried to sneak away and grab a sip of beer. Every time Leo or his father kept her away, one way or another. Whether it be asking her opinion on something, or Leo just gabbing the sleeve of her jacket. Which, made her a little depressed. She wanted some so badly... It was torture to the girl.

Following closely behind Leo towards Mr. Hermans' car, she kept her arms held close to her chest. Even though there was a blast of humidity and possibility of rain, she still was fine wearing her jacket.

Taking a spot in the back of the vehicle seeing that riding shotgun wouldn't be nice, or proper, she brushed her hair with her fingers after buckling herself up. Looking at Leo who sat with her in the back, she smiled. "S-So... If you don't mind me asking... Where are we headed, Mr. Herman?"

The older blond glanced at the reverse mirror to look at Keirsta as he responded. "Well, I thought you two might be hungry. So I supposed he could go eat at a restaurant back in Big Rapids." The man's son looked up from re positioning his backpack. "The Gypsy Nickle?" Leo's voice was hopeful, not caring to notice how odd the name would sound to Keirsta, who hadn't been there before.

It had been a good three or four months since he had gone there. The last few weeks Leo had been home, he had eaten home meals. His father's excuse was that he wouldn't be able to eat a home cooked meal in a while. Not that Leo minded at all. His father was a good cook.

Michael chuckled and nodded, and the blond beamed, turning to Keirsta. "It's a popular restaurant set on the Muskegon river, which runs through Big Rapids. The blond paused, looking forward, recalling the last time he ate there. "They have a Rubin to die for."

Returning to his first position, he prepared himself for a long ride back home. He didn't think that he'd be home so soon. He had only been gone for a few months. It wasn't like it has been a year or anything major like that. However, he still felt excitement in showing Keirsta where he came from. It was a small town, but not quite to the point where everyone knew everyone. That was what he liked about Big Rapids.
----
A car ride later, they pulled into a parking lot, and entered the building. It looked like it was originally a home, however, adapted into a restaurant. On the inside, it was rather dark, however modern. Sleek pine wood planks were laid on the ground. Straight ahead of the entrance, was a bar with drinks displayed behind the counter, and blue lights illuminated the bottles. Along the back wall, were windows looking out onto the river, along with a door leading out onto a balcony.

Thankfully, it wasn't too cloudy here than in Grand Rapids, so the trio opted to sit outside so they could overlook the river.

A good three fourths of way through the dinner, the sound of laughter and cheering brought something to their attention. Looking up from his Rubin, his blue eyes rested on a group of teenagers, who floated lazily down the river, locked together by holding onto eachother's tubes. One boy, with brown hair let out a shout, arm extended in a wave."Yo Mr. Herman! How's Leo?"

The teen in question's smile brightened and he leaped to his feet, left hand braced on the railing, and the other cupped around his mouth."I'm doing fine!"

The crowd of teens started yelling and laughing, something akin to a riot.

"Holy shit! It's Leo!"

"What even?" Followed by a fit of laughter.

"Hey, what's up!"

After they calmed down, and where a further bit away from them, the trio heard the boy from before call out. "We're getting off at your house!"

"See you there!" Leo called back, leaning over the railing so he could watch them turn around the bend. Once they were out of eyesight, the prefect sat back in his seat, looking happy.

ooc; Lazy posts. 8D

Keirsta had only nodded the entire time on the way there. Deciding her best bet would be to be quiet and polite, she hadn't really talked at all on the car ride over there... She felt a little out-of-place because she didn't know anywhere in the town. Seeing that it was small she wouldn't be surprised to find her way around easily, but still. It would take a bit to get used to.

Having chosen something simple from the menu, a few chicken strips, she had ate quietly and listened to Leo and Mr. Herman converse. There wasn't much else she could say, other then the questions she'd get asked. She'd answer, but there wasn't really anything else she could really talk about. She didn't know his family well enough to really be able to converse with them on a personal level, and she didn't want to get on their bad side.

Looking out the window when there were boys shouting to Leo's father, she was a little surprised when suddenly Leo jumped up to yell to them. She hadn't seen him like that before, but even then, these had to be friends of old. She couldn't compete with that. Quietly brushing her hair back, she just watched.

Finishing up her dinner, she looked towards Mr. Herman, then at Leo.

"I'll be back... Pardon me, please."

She slipped out of her seat at the table, walking towards the bar area of the restaurant. Walking up to the counter, she had a bit of a blank face.
"Could I get a bottle of Corona, please?"

The woman behind the counter looked up, raising an eyebrow.
"Y'ain't 21 kid. Sorry."

"N-No! I have my ID right here!"
Keirsta opened up her purse and handed it to the lady, who only snickered.

"Y'ain't foolin' me missy. I know this is fake and you're only 16."

Keirsta's jaw dropped. Rubbing her temples, she just sighed.
"Can I at least have the ID back?"

The lady threw it back at Keirsta, and while the lady had been focused on her, Keirsta had used her power to sneak herself a small shot glass with a bit of the substance.

Which, didn't work.

The bartender had caught her while she was picking it up from the floor, and had quickly walked over and stepped on Keirsta's hand... The one Leo had nearly killed from the plane ride. Yelping, the girl withdrew her hand and sighed.

"Desperate, ey? Sorry, but I can't serve you. You're still a kid."

Keirsta sighed, and sulked away. Holding her hand close to her chest once more, she looked at it to see a pretty bad bruise already there. Just great. What'd she tell Leo? He killed her hand? No.. He'd feel bad. She tried to go sneak a drink? He'd kill her. Man, she couldn't do anything to make up an excuse... She'd just have to come clean with him.

She was still pretty close to the counter though when she saw Leo start to come closer.

Shit. She was in some deep shit.

Leo finished his sandwich as his father talked to him about that he had been doing now that he didn't have to look after Leo and Aleta. He had gone to gardening. He had been talking about it before Leo left, he remembered. Although, he had put it off because he was too busy homeschooling he and Aleta. Now he said, that there was a small grapevine growing, some rhubarb, a stray berry bush and some blueberry and black berry bushes. While all of that was exciting to hear, Leo's thoughts wondered to Keirsta, who had been gone longer than usual. During that time, the waiter from before dropped off the check, and came back for it.

The blond rose to his feet again, pushing himself off of the white fence, and pushing in his chair. At his father's confused look, Leo waved him off with a smile. "Don't worry about it, just come out to the car when they come back with the check." Without looking to see his father's response, Leo slipped away, face looking worried.

Pushing open the white wood door, Leo peered inside, eyes slowly adjusting to the dark lighting. His first look was toward the bathrooms, but when he scanned the entire restaurant, his eyes rested on Keirsta standing near the bar. He was confused for a moment, when realization dawned on him.

God damn it Keirsta.

Sighing, he made his way over to the counter, face a mixture of emotions. Without saying a word, he guided her out by her elbow, as her hands were at her chest. It was only when they were outside when he said something.

"Did you really think that would work? I mean, this is a small town, Mrs. Amburg has plenty of kids come in there trying to buy beer." His head was lowered, and looked up at Keirsta through his bangs in a scolding manner. "Didn't we talk about this too? Didn't we talk about how terrible it is for you?" While his voice was level, Leo couldn't help but feel upset.

Was beer worth more than her health? Did she know he cared? That he was getting on her about it for her own health? Letting out a quiet sigh, Leo looked away, towards the parking lot, a frown on his face.

The color on Keirsta's face drained instantly when she had seen Leo.

She was in trouble for sure.

Hanging her head, she didn't struggle against Leo when he guided her out of the bar area. A slight frown of her own was on her face, and she tried her best not to move the hand that had been inadvertently crushed by the woman behind the counter. Taking her other hand and brushing her hair back away from her face, her head hung in shame. It was just natural for her to do so. Tears brimmed her eyes once they were outside and Leo had stopped. Why couldn't she just stay away from the temptation? It was so hard...

"I-I didn't even know if it would work or not! I know this is a small town, but y-y-" Tears were threatening to pour down her face at this point. A single tear escaped once and awhile, making its way down her cheek.

"I know it's horrible for my health... But you don't understand Leo.... I can't just quit. I'm compelled to drink, I can't help it... I can't just quit..." Taking her one good hand and wiping her eyes, she quickly tried to straighten up.

"I-I'm sorry Leo..."

Looking down at the hand that had gotten somewhat tortured, she gasped at how bad the bruise on it was. Well, that's going to be fun... Making a mental note to ask Leo's mother to wrap it up or something, she looked towards the door. She couldn't wait for Mr. Herman to come so they could go to Leo's house.

Leo looked back as she spoke again, eyes widening at her sad tone. He didn't mean to make her cry, shit shitshit. Taking a step loser to her, he reached up and cupped her face with his hand. Leo figured it would be hard, but he never went through what Keirsta was going through. He had no experience on how to deal with that. All he knew was to keep her away from the alcoholic beverages. The blond brushed the lone tear from her face with his thumb. A sympathetic frown on his face as he did so. Taking his hand back, he silently watched her rub her eyes, feeling terrible about scolding her. Yet, he knew that it was really all he could do, getting on her back about it.

Luckily for Keirsta, Leo's father came out, opening the door in a hurried action. "Come on! They'll be there before us." Blinking rapidly, Leo looked back and forth from Keirsta to his father, who seemed to have set a brisk pace to the car. Choosing to follow, Leo placed a comforting hand on her back, and guided her to the car.

They began the short drive to his house. As they went along in the neighborhood, Leo stared out of the window, watching maple tree after maple tree pass overhead. And after a good three minutes, they arrived at a cottage like house. The panel walls were a soft pale blue, and the roof slates were a navy blue. At the front was a sun room, which held a white door to get inside. Past that was another white door, however, not as bright as it was worn with age and a bit of dirt.

The black car slowly pulled into the garage, which was not connected to the house. But not far from the garage was the door to the house. Where if you entered, there would be a mudroom for people to take off their shoes before they go into the main part of the house. Next to that door in the grass patch was a frog statue holding a fishing pole. A kind of lawn gnome, but... a frog.

The two blonds stepped out of the truck, and the youngest of the two took in a deep breath. He was home.