* your hand, in mine -- NALA

[LEO SIDNEY PROUD]

[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=width,325,true] Leo was nervous. It was a strange phenomenon for such a cocky young man. However he couldn’t help it. Today was one of those situations that he just couldn’t apply his usual ‘I laugh in the face of danger’ motto. This wasn’t danger. This was—Well, he couldn’t even put into words what this was. That was how freaked out he was about this whole thing. The young man’s gut was twisted into knots, and his palms and forehead were sweating. He had to- He was going to-.. He couldn’t even finish the thoughts. The whole concept just made him feel uneasy. Nala was his best friend. Period. End of sentence. Adding this new player was just going to complicate things where there need not be complications. There would be new expectations of each other. New depth to the relationship. Things Leo wasn’t sure he was really ready for. Things he didn’t think he’d ever be ready for with Nala. Sticking his hand into the pocket of his slacks, the young man figured the velvet box. It felt cold and heavy against his hand. He was weighed down by it. From the moment his mother had thrust it into his hand that morning, Leo had felt as though the world was pressing down on him. He wanted to be free, not pressed down with responsibility. It wasn’t as though it had been a shock to him. No no, Leo had known this was coming for a while. It was just, so soon? He was hoping he’d find a few more years to resign himself to it (if he couldn’t wriggle his way out of it) before it happened. However, he was taking Nala to the executive office of Ajax to watch the parade- his father’s standing invitation from years passed, and his mother had suggested that it would be a lovely setting to ask Nala for her hand. The executives of Ajax always put on a lovely party for the whole thing. So there he was. Dressed to the nines and completely nervous as he locked his car. The boy as a few minutes late to pick Nala up, but as far as he was concerned, that wasn’t an issue. Girls always took far too long to get dressed, so even if he was a few minutes late, she may not have even been ready. Leo swallowed. He didn’t want to feel so nervous all night. No, that would just be so awkward. He would just bite the bullet and get it over and done with earlier, rather than later. Then maybe they could just forget it and at least try and enjoy themselves with the free food and booze at the swanky party and watch the parade. His hopes weren’t too high, it was kind of a big thing to just set aside. It was better than nothing though. And right then, better than nothing was all he really had going for him. Taking his phone out, ignoring the box in his pocket once more, Leo quickly typed out Nala a text. ‘Come downstairs, I have an early Christmas present for you.’ Even though they were both less than thrilled, Leo wanted to at least try to make the whole proposal at least somewhat special for her. The moment he hit sent though, Leo blanched. What the hell, proposing on the street by his car? That wasn’t special. At all. God what a dick. Starting to panic, his eyes flashed wildly around. Searching for something he could pass off as her gift. Roses. Perfect. Lunging forward, the man picked one of the pink roses from the bush a few feet from his car. Once inspecting the stem for thorns, the young man moved to lean back against the side of his car. Twirling the rose slowly between his fingers. C O U N T, 640 N O T E S, i heart you, miss

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[NALA NIKITA KELLY]

[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=width,325,true] Tear stain trails lined Nala's face as she sat on her bed, fresh ones forming as she slowly looked up at the young man standing in her bedroom, his back to her. She shuddered, her body slowly trembling as she looked at her manicured hands as they rested in her lap. She told him. She had to. She had an obligation to her family, and that obligation meant that whatever her and Malachi had, had to come to an end. Her glistening, deep brown eyes stared at the young man as his shoulder hunched over him, his back still to her as she looked away swiftly. She then stood to her feet, her soft pink dress billowed gently behind her as she slowly approached Malachi. He stiffened when her hands touched his shoulder blades. She sniffled softly as she waited for his wrath, to shout at her for everything she was putting them through. She was hurting him, and that was the last thing she wanted to do. "When are you doing this?" He asked harshly, his shoulders tensing more as he kept his back to her. Nala looked down, her hands sliding down his back slowly as she tried to keep it together. She really didn't know when it was going to happen. "I-I don't know exactly. L-Leo is the one who has to pro--" He then moved away from her suddenly, facing her as he placed his hand over his mouth, rubbing it harshly. Nala looked away as tears rolled down her face. She wanted this all to go away, to go back to what it was like before. But she knew that couldn't happen. She had a duty to fulfill and she knew that meant sacrificing the man that she loved. Malachi shook his head and moved away finally, not saying another word. He went for the window instead of going down the stairs. If her parents knew that he was here, they'd have a field day. At least he wasn't going to expose her to them. He still cared. But that wasn't what she was thinking about in that moment. She cried out, tears spilling against her face. "Mal!" She cried, her hands gripping the window sill as she watched her boyfriend step out, and made the short jump to the grass below to make his way toward the bushes to slip off the property. He slowly turned to look at her, his burning brown eyes glaring back at her. She sniffled, her whole body trembling. "I love you..." She whispered, hoping he'd remember that. He looked down at the ground, his jaw tensing and relaxing repeatedly before he pushed through the bushes and disappeared into the night. She then shrieked, sinking to the carpeted floor of her room. She brushed the folds of her dress from her knees as she buried her ruined face into them. Why was this happening? She then gasped at the sound of her phone going off. She reached for it, opening the message that awaited her. She read it, seeing that it was from Leo. He was here. She sniffled, brushing the tears from her face as she cracked a soft smile. Despite the agony, she couldn't blame any of this on Leo. He was just as freaked out as she was. After taking a few minutes to retouch her face, burying the clues of her pain, she did as the message instructed and made her way down the stairs. She took one last look in the mirror, making sure her wavy long hair was in place, the bow was just right on the left side of her head, and that her dress was perfect. She then slipped outside into the night, her brown eyes falling on her best friend as he leaned against his car. A giggle left her lips as she saw the rose twisting between his fingers. She then made her way toward him, her heels clicking against the pavement as she walked. She then stopped in front of him, her eyes glittering as she looked up into his eyes. "Charming." She said warmly at him before she shot a glance down the street where she saw the fleeting back of Malachi, his white shirt a beacon in the night as he ran out of sight. O U T F I T, linky C O U N T, 719 N O T E S, i heart you more, love

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[LEO SIDNEY PROUD]

[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=width,325,true] Leo swallowed. He knew Nala was pretty. Heck, he’d always known it. From the moment he’d hit puberty, it had been clear that she was completely gorgeous. To this day her looks still managed to find him breathless. That’s all it was though right? She was attractive and he was a guy. It was normal. At least, that’s what he was going to convince himself. That the tingle in his stomach when he saw her looking particularly attractive was just his hormones and the confusing of the whole situation. Nothing more. He was pretty good at that, pretending things. Like he wasn’t still trying to deal with the loss of his father, and that he wasn’t completely shitting himself with the thought of what he had to do tonight. Playing pretend was something Leo had loved as a child, and it seemed as though the young man had never really grown out of it. His mother, who was a fairly perceptive person, suggested that it was his un-willingness to grow up that had him so against the idea of taking Nala was his bride. However, at least this once, she was completely wrong. True, he didn’t want to grow up but if things were different, he could still be a big old kid while being married. The truth of the matter was, he knew the moment he slipped the ring off that beautiful slender finger, everything would change. Nala was his best friend, and in all honesty she was his world. Everything to him. She was the only one he could grieve for his father with (and even then he couldn’t be honest with her), not to mention the fact that he considered her closer than most of his family. She was his nana and when the pressure of something he knew she didn’t want came, he was so shit scared that he was going to lose her. His heart gave a small jolt as he saw her exiting her house. God. She had gone all out tonight. The woman was, well.. breathtaking. This made everything harder. A vice ripped at his chest. Tugging at his heart, trying to squeeze it dry- he was sure of it. If it kept going, Leo wasn’t going to be able to breathe. He was going to faint right there on the spot from lack of oxygen to the brain. Shit. How the crap was he supposed to do this? Curse her to hell. She was so pretty it was literally hurting him to look at her. So how the hell was he supposed to go down on bended knee and propose to her. The vice attacking his chest invited friends. His stomach was now being tugged and twisted, being knotted up while something was making his head spin like a globe on a stand. Closing his eyes for a moment, he tried to settle himself. Opening his eyes at her gentle words. One look in her eyes told him that something was wrong. Leo knew Nala too well for her to hide anything from him. It went both ways actually; he’d never been any good at hiding anything from Nala either. One whiff that something was wrong with his nana was what Leo needed to sober himself. Nothing else mattered. His protective instinct kicking in instantly. Discarding the rose, Leo collected both her hands in his own. Pulling the girl to his chest. Holding her in place for a moment. Silently. Just feeling her heart beat against his. Perhaps it was his own need for closeness spurring his actions right now, but his intentions were to comfort her. “Nana..” he whispered softly in her hear. Letting go of one of her hands to stroke her hair softly. He’d never been afraid to touch Nala. Be it in affection, or a teasing fight. It never occurred to him that it wasn’t appropriate or she didn’t like it. He figured if she didn’t like it she’d tell him. Or so he hoped. “You cant lie to me. Something’s wrong..” he murmured into her ear. “Please tell me..” his voice broke slightly, almost pleading. Had his mother informed her, and she was distraught about it? Or was it something else? Something worse? Leo blanched at the idea. He couldn’t stand the thought of Nala feeling any pain at all. In his mind she was still supposed to be that happy little child he had adored. C O U N T, 739 N O T E S, wow... leo, why so intense....?

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