Surprise was a complete understatement.

I kept on rapidly blinking, as if it would make the scene in front of me change. But no, Leon still stood there with the whistle in his hand.

Look, I was completely aware that he had that whistle. I skipped class because of shocked I was when I saw that the same whistle existed in the same time frame. However, to have him show it to me on the exact moment after I questioned him about time travel was just something else.

And my brain was taking its sweet time to comprehend the situation.

All the while his words kept repeating inside my head.

Did you figure it out? Did you figure it out? Did you figure it out?

What was there to figure out?

"Leon?" somebody called out, finally cutting through the silence and tension. I whipped around so quickly that it actually made me dizzy, but I could only stand there like a deer in the headlights when a high heeled shoe came into view from behind one of the bushes, "They said you were out here with a guest."

What came was a beautiful blonde woman, her brown eyes showed warmth and welcoming but her gait yelled authority. Very much like Leon.

I know her and I've seen her before because I went to the same school as Leon since the sixth grade so of course she was very familiar to me. The person standing in front of me, the one who walked like she was floating due to how graceful she was, was Leon Colten's mother.

"Mom!" was all he could say, "You're home."

She walked over to us and grabbed her son's face, planting a kiss on his cheek as a greeting, before facing me, "And you brought home a friend."

I stood in attention immediately, trying to find the right words not to make an outmost fool of myself.

Kind of impossible considering my brain still was processing everything that had happened.

Still, I managed to raise a hand and stammered a pathetic excuse for an introduction, "I... umm, I'm uh-"

The more I stared at her, the more the words slowly started to die in my throat. I was desperately glancing towards her son, almost pleading him to put a stop on my misery. Thankfully, he managed to collect himself and take over the conversation, "This is Avery, she's a classmate."

"It's a pleasure to meet you," she smiled invitingly, shaking my outstretched hand. While she did so, I could feel her gaze deeply assessing me, causing me to be more conscious than I already was.

Calm down Avery, this just the mother of the guy who like, nothing to fret about.

Oh hell, I had every reason to fret.

"So," she said as she released her grip, "Will you be joining us for dinner?"

She talked so formally.

Okay, we just have to match that energy and we should be good, "I wouldn't want to impose."

"Impose?" she laughed lightheartedly, "Leon rarely brings home friends from school so it would be really nice if you stayed."

My eyes then switched frantically to Leon, trying to gauge whether it was alright with him. While his mother made it clear that she was eager for me to say yes, he was another story. The last thing I wanted was to weasel myself into a part of his life where he didn't want me to.

But I couldn't even describe my joy when he subtly nodded in approval. So I turned back to his mother, accepting her offer, "Then I guess it's a yes."

She grinned happily, beckoning us to follow her back inside, "Come on then and besides, it's starting to get dark out here."

I shot mom a text that I was eating over at Mia's and I knew that she would cover for me even if I don't give her any prior notice. She can handle the rest if my mom decides to call her.

When I entered the gorgeous house again, I was met with the sight of Leon's father. His back was turned to us as he sat on their plush sofa, the tv running in front of him but the sound was muted. I could see him mindlessly scrolling on his phone, ignoring the movie on the tv screen.

"Honey," Mrs. Colten softly spoke, calling his attention.

"Did you manage to wrangle up our lion cub?" he chuckled, causing my eyebrows to shoot up.

I glanced towards Leon, watching as an embarrassed blush started to cheeks due to the nickname.

"Lion cub?" I quietly questioned.

He cleared his throat loudly, trying to wave it off, "Hey dad, this is Avery."

If he thought that I was going to let that slip, then he had another thing coming for him.

Mr. Colten, on the other hand, looked over his shoulder to peer at us. He saw me and he flashed on that million dollar smile, probably the same one that made earning high amounts of money easy, "Nice to meet you, Avery."

Both of his parents were highly charismatic so I truly wonder why Leon was like this. Not that I was complaining, I already liked him just the way he was.

Alright, I really need to stop swooning over this guy.

"Dinner is ready, sir," a maid came in and I had to stop myself from gaping so much. I never thought that I would actually see a household with employees in the flesh.

"Thank you," Mr. Colten said, turning to all of us, "Shall we?"

Mrs. Colten went on ahead and joined her husband's side. I waited for Leon to walk before I could, because it felt seemingly inappropriate if I went ahead before him while inside his own home.

But when he didn't move, I had to look up at him questioningly, "What's wrong?"

"I'm waiting for you," he shrugged.

"And I'm waiting for you," I shot back, causing both of us to pause and just stare at each other.

And in that brief moment, I felt myself calm down. The stress of today – of this stab of betrayal I felt from Sasha, from the high anxiety because of Pat, the uncertainty of first entering Leon's home, the giant mess that was the whistle – all of it melted away.

All I need was to look into his eyes. It transcended warmth, it portrayed relief.

"Shall we?" I found myself saying in the same tone that his father did earlier, "Lion cub?"

He rolled his eyes but placed a gentle touch on the small of my back to lead me forward, "We shall."

"I'm not letting that go," I snickered under my breath, making my way to the dining room.

"Please do," he murmured but I noticed that his hand remained where it was until we joined his parents. They were both patiently waiting for us, not even bothering with touching their food.

God, they were perfect. It was no wonder Leon was who he was.

"So how long have you two known each other?" Mrs. Colten asked just as I jolted up when a maid came behind me and started to fill up my glass with water.

"We've been in the same class since middle school," Leon answered for the both of us while I simply stared at their household employees walk around the table, tending to each person's food and drinks, "I brought her here because I thought that she'd appreciate your garden."

I stopped myself from showing my shock at how straightforward he was. If I was in his situation, I would have thought up some elaborate lie to my mother because I was afraid that she might get the wrong idea.

Though if we reversed our positions and mom assumed that I had feelings for him, she wouldn't be completely off.

"Well, it's there to be admired," she smiled softly, quickly glancing affectionately towards her husband before turning to me, "So you're always welcome to visit when you want."

"I think that depends on Leon," I let out a small smile, hoping it came out lighthearted.

Mr. Colten let out an amused chuckle, "Who cares what Leon thinks? We're more than happy to have you see the garden anytime."

"Dad," Leon groaned out in protest.

"Hush now, lion cub," he shot back, once again using his pet name. This effectively slapped an embarrassed expression on Leon's face.

"Dad!" he repeated, this time with desperation laced in it. Mr. Colten continued on with his banter and Mrs. Colten laughed on at her boys' antics.

Warm.

Throughout my life, there was this stigma that those with the highest richest were the coldest. That houses as big as this was supposed to feel lonely. That parents who were as busy as them were supposed to act distant.

But warmth and affection radiated from every pore of the Coltens. It escaped into the air during their interactions and bounced off the walls of this house, enveloping the grandeur with a sense of comfort.

It was something I missed.

I miss having family meals like this – to have my mother and father talking about their time at work. To have my father constantly tease me if there were boys trying to get my attention. To have my mother playfully scold him when I was starting to get fed up. To have dad prepare two cups of tea and a mug of hot chocolate while I cleaned the dishes, mom lounging in the living room because she was the one who cooked our meal.

And we would sit there in the living room, both of them watching the tv while I was sat on the floor so I could do my homework on the coffee table. The moment I looked up, they were ready to answer whatever inquiry I had.

I missed having a complete family.

Mom lost her peppiness, that youthful glow that she always sported when my father was there to serve up his humor to make her laugh. I know she tries so act normal, to still appear happy for my sake, but it was so painfully obvious in that home that there was a missing piece.

A piece known as my father.

I felt a gentle nudge on my feet and I had to look down under the table to figure out Leon placed his foot right against my mine.

I looked up to his face and saw him still conversing with his parents but every now and then, he subtly glanced towards my way.

He knew. He noticed. He was trying to tell me that he was there for me.

So I tapped his foot back, just a small gesture that I appreciated it.

I appreciated him.

"So Avery, what do you think of Leon?" Mrs. Colten piped in, "We love him dearly, but I know for a fact that he's not the easiest to get along with."

Leon let out another exasperated sigh, knowing fully well the embarrassment train being delightfully served by his parents wasn't going to stop anytime soon. However, I wanted to contradict what his mother said. Sure, at first impression you'd be immediately turned off by his cold aura but if you manage to get past that, you would see that this guy was the epitome of care.

"Well, I don't think he's hard to get along with," I found myself talking to them in a composed manner for once, though the feeling of Leon's shoe beside mine did help spectacularly, "He's really one of the kindest people I've ever met and he has saved me more times that I would like to admit. I really like him for that."

I immediately saw Leon practically spit out his drink and started coughing loudly. I was so confused as I opened my mouth to ask him if he was alright, but then I realized what could have caused this.

I straight out said loud and clear that I liked him. Not just that, it was in front of him and his parents.

Oh dear god.

If I wasn't internally dying at the situation as it was, I would have laugh at how we all looked. Leon was trying to straighten himself up, a couple of maids handing him a napkin and tending to him. His mother had stood up and was patting him on the back. His father was still sitting there, trying to hide his smirk behind his glass as he took a drink because I think he clearly heard my little slip up.

Then there was me, looking absolutely mortified with myself.

My head was already trying to run a thousand excuses inside my head in an attempt to save my ass.

Oh I meant that as a friend.

Of course, I like you since you've be such a good friend to me.

What? I never said I liked you. You must be hearing things.

Nope, nothing sounded right.

Alright, Barber, play it cool. You've been rather good at acting like everything has been completely normal since you woke up in the past, albeit freaking a few of my friends out with my weird attitude, but still rather good.

"Leon, are you okay?" I questioned out loud, applauding myself for keeping my voice leveled.

He looked up and his eyes met mine to stare at me like I was some puzzle to be solved. Safe to say, I wasn't immune to having his outmost attention so all the words died down in my throat and I could only sit there stiffly with my cheeks probably getting redder and redder by the second.

And finally, Mr. Colten had mercy on all of us.

"That was a lovely meal," he said, cutting through the tension, "Leon, why don't you fix yourself upstairs then drive Avery home? It's getting late and you both still have school tomorrow."

Without another word, he shot up from his seat and walked right out of the dining room. I groaned, placing my hands on my face and forego the proper posture stuff and slumped on my chair.

This day was just the gift that keeps on giving.

"What has gotten into that kid?" Mrs. Colten tsked, placing her hands on her hips, "I swear, he got that from you, dear."

"He's got something but it's definitely not from me and for me," he chuckled, not even trying to be subtle with the way he glanced towards my way.

Please, please, make it stop. I can no longer deal with the shame that I was feeling.

"I'm sorry for that, Avery," Mrs. Colten apologized, approaching me. She paused for a moment when she saw the whistle, her face extraordinarily mimicking the expression Leon had when he first saw it when I entered the car, "I didn't know Leon gave his whistle to you."

Right, the whistle. I had almost forgotten that this was the topic on hand before she waltzed into the garden.

"I remember that one time when he accidentally left it in his pocket when he threw his jeans into the laundry, I have never seen him more frantic in my life," she explained and ever so slowly, the red that bloomed on my face from the mishap slowly drained away as she spoke.

Because she reminded me that the whistle around my neck did play a role in bringing me back to the past. Not only that, Leon was aware this whole time that I came from the future and he acted completely normal in front of everybody.

He might possibly be the Leon from the timeline I came from. We might have went back in time together. He could be from the future and heck, he could be the one who brought me here.

I had no idea what was happening. Here I thought I finally got the hang of this new reality.

Leon walked back in fresh clothes, his car keys being tossed up and down in his hand, "Avery, let's go."

He might sound fine but the fact that he wouldn't even look my way was a telltale sign that he wasn't completely over what had happened. And now I had to sit through a car ride with him after I blurted out that I liked him and that there was still this lingering question about the whistle.

I felt like the blood running in my veins were cold as ice when I stood up and tried to say a coherent goodbye to his parents, "T-thank you for everything, Mr. and Mrs. Colten."

"I was serious when I said that you are welcome here anytime," she said, reaching out and squeezing my hands, "Bye, Avery."

His father also said goodbye and I slowly started to walk away. However, I felt like every step I took required mental effort.

Left foot, right foot, left foot, right foot, left foot, right foot.

When I went through that giant door again, it was like I was seeing the extravagance for the first time again. I felt so stiff and robotic as I passed through the line-up of luxury cars to reach the one that Leon drove me with.

This was his life, so charmed and wonderful.

And I was extremely problematic.

"Avery?" he asked when instead of going inside the car, I was just staring at the roof with one hand on the door handle.

"Are we ever going to talk about it?" I found myself saying, "About the whistle?"

He knew that I was going to touch on that subject, though he probably wasn't expecting that I would do it before we even got out of those gates.

"That depends," he sighed, "Do you want to talk about it right now?"

In all honesty? No. I've been through shit today and I was afraid that if he revealed everything to me at this exact moment, I wouldn't be able to absorb it all. Or worse, I might have a bigger freak out.

So I shook my head gently and I watched as slowly went around the car until he was at my side.

He showed me his palm, his whistle sitting on top of it, "Here."

"What?" I blinked down at it, not completely getting what he wanted me to do.

"Take it and when you want to talk about it, give it back to me."

I time traveled without a single hint of how I got there, but that wasn't the same for him. He probably had this all figured out with the whistle being involved. Now I pose the question, did we have the same one? Did two of the same whistle exist in a single timeline or were our whistles different?

All I knew was that the whistle in his hand was far more dangerous than the one that I wore.

I gingerly took the whistle but instead of keeping it, I ran the chain in my hand and turned to face him. We were both silent as I went up my toes and passed it through over his head, settling it on his neck the same way he did when he gave me my whistle in the car after he pulled me away from jumping off the window.

"Keep it, Leon," I muttered softly to him, one hand still holding onto it, "I'll ask you tomorrow about what is going on, but for now, wear it."

He lifted a hand and gently enclosed my hand in his, nodding his head, "Okay."

Maybe I was hallucinating or maybe I was wishing so much for it to be true, but I felt his heart beating fast in his chest, almost matching the same pace of mine.

"Okay," I mimicked, but still not letting go because he wasn't.

And I would gladly spend hours standing there with him, feeling his heart as his hand held mine.

----------------------------

These two are going to be sickeningly sweet very soon and I'm squealing over them! I swear, I'm projecting because I'm so single and I really want a relationship at this point. Since I can't have that for myself, might as well make my characters have it.

And I think it's a hundred percent adorable that Leon's parents liked Avery, don't you?

Sorry this was up a bit later than usual but I hope you liked it. Please leave me a comment, vote, and follow. See you next chapter!