Before the Sun Sets

@ Jinx...
Leo playfully looked at his wrist, as if impatiently checking a watch when she came out. But his goofy smile gave everything away. All his joking, all his teasing. “You look fine don’t worry.” He murmured. He licked his lips as she tugged on his shirt. His mind instantly went to much less innocent places. “Either or, whatever you prefer.” He offered and his hand slid into hers as the couple began to walk out of their hotel room. He felt more confident and proud than he had in years and it showed. He was ready to take on anything and he felt like he could now that Olivia was by his side. She was his rock and held him down, but also lifted him up. He wished they could have a normal cheesy relationship. Where he would take her home to meet his family for Christmas. And he would have to ask her fathers permission for her hand in marriage. But he knew they weren’t normal. He knew nothing in their relationship would be normal. But that’s okay because it was them, genuinely them.

@ BadStreetBoys
Bella laughed. "Get use to it." she teased at his waiting impatient gesture. "Just fine huh?" she asked and chuckled. "I'll call an Uber. Parking the RV is not easy." she said and pulled out her phone. "Three minutes." she said after she was done. She looked up at him and grinned. He looked like he was drifting in his thoughts. "Leo." she called and smiled as he looked at her. "Hey welcome back to the present." she chuckled. "Where did you go?" she asked him with a tender grin. She held his hand now that she was done on her phone. She grinned and walked out to the front with him and leaned her head on his shoulder. She was really proud of him. This had no been easy but never once had he threatened to give up. She hoped this meant that it would last. She kept thinking of what Tony say. This was the first time he was sober in years. "So did you call Tony?" she asked him. She wondered if he told Ricky yet. She was sure he was nervous about doing so.

@ Jinx...
Leo was in a sort of going through the motions trance when Olivia spoke and brought his attention back to her. “Oh yea.” He said and laughed. “I was just thinking about us.” He told her reassuringly, squeezing her hand gently. He rested his head atop hers as they waited for the uber. “Yea I called him this morning when I grabbed breakfast from the lobby.” He told her and kissed the top of her head. “We talked for a little while. Have you talked to him?” He asked and raised an eyebrow. Leo wondered why she always worried about him talking to Tony or Ricky or anyone else. Maybe it was just because he felt so weird to have someone scaring about him and worrying about him. When the Uber pulled up Leo opened the door for Olivia, once she was in he climbed in after her, draping his arm across her shoulders in the back seat.

@ BadStreetBoys
Bella smiled. "Really? What about us?" she asked him. She relaxed into him as they waited. She smiled softly and nodded. "Good." she looked up at him and frowned. "Yeah on your worst day I was freaking out and didn't know what to do so I called Tony. He was pretty worried about you since you don't usually go air silent." she said and smiled. "He gave me some good advice and reminded me I was going the right thing." she said. "Though he said my timing was terrible." she laughed. Bella smiled and slipped into the Uber. She buckled up and smiled at Leo as he wrapped his arm over her. She felt like she was on top of the world right now. She blushed and chuckled. If they ever told anyone about their first official date she hoped they wouldn't say it was after his detox. She wanted their first date to be about them not everything else. She looked up at Leo pretty sure she was not going to be waiting for three dates before she let him whoo her. She was addicted to his lips and his body called to her. She was sure it was the same way for him.

@ Jinx...
Leo blushed slightly. “Just, being in a relationship, y’know. It’s new and different. Just thinking about all that.” He said and rubbed the back of his neck nervously. Leo wasn’t sure how to explain what he thought. He never had been sure of his emotions. “Yes your timing coulda been better.” He teased weakly as he thiugh back to what he could remember before she dumped his alcohol. Leo was quiet as they were driven to the pizza place. He thanked the driver as he got out and took Olivia’s hand as they went inside and were quickly seated. Leo smiled across at Olivia. “I’ve waited like twelve years for this moment.” He said and laughed. “Just you and me on a real date. It’s crazy.” He told her and just smiled. He was so happy and proud. “I hope this one goes better than the night after we hired you.” He told her with a nervous smile, thinking back to how she walked out of the restaurant after he had been a drunk asshole.

@ BadStreetBoys
Bella smiled and nodded. "Yeah it's different." She said. She laughed at his teasing. "Yeah never gonna live that one down." She said. She sighed and leaned her head against his shoulder as they drove to the pizza place. She grinned getting out of the Uber and walked in with him sitting in the booth opposite him. Bella giggle as he said how long he had been waiting for this. "Yeah its been a long wait." She said and fidgeted in her seat. She chuckled as he said he hoped it went better. "Well the waitress isn't going to try crawling into your lap and your not looking at me like a piece of meat so yeah I'll say we're already off to a good start." She teased and reached out taking his hand leaning in. "Should we pretend like this is the date we should have had in 8th grade? She asked him. "I mean it is the perfect place. There is even an arcade area." She said grinning at him innocently. "You can do that cute little shuffle you did when you wanted to kiss me and I'll lean up against something and tilt my head like I am asking you to kiss me." She smiled softly at him.

@ Jinx...
Leo rolled his eyes at her teasing but the goofy grin on his face seemed permanent. “Okay listen I love those waitresses. They’re so good to me.” He said and laughed again. “But you make fair points.” Leo looked done at the menu for a moment. “Oh god.” He said and his face turned pink. He covered his face with his hand and shook his head. “I cannot go back to acting like I did in eighth grade. Nope nope nope.” He said and laughed as he split his fingers and looked at her through them. “I’ve got no problem kissing you now.” He told her and reached out to take her hand. “I fucking love you.” He said a little louder than expected, which caused his blush to return. “Wanna get like some mozzarella sticks or something to share?” He asked softly. “For an appetizer.” Leo’s smile wouldn’t leave his face. He was so happy right now. He had literally waited over ten years for this. “When I first saw you, in my office. Obviously you knew how shooken up I was.” He began and his eyes moved from Olivia back down at the paper menu. “What you didn’t know was how much it literally brought back. So many memories literally all at once. Even ones you weren’t a part of.” He continued. “I have a scar, on my upper thigh that no one really knows about and those that dk are just girls I’ve slept with and they don’t know how I got it.” He told her and glanced back up. “I got it the first time I started drinking. After Ricky and I moved to New York, I got drunk at this weird party and there was this girl there that looked just like you and because I was drunk it freaked me out and I was feeling way too many emotions that it just shut me down. Like I started feeling nothing. And the girl would flirt with me, which freaked me out even more. So, As the night went on I still couldn’t feel anything. I hated it. I hated her flirting with me and making me feel sick. So I finished another beer, smashed the bottle, and stabbed myself with the end of it. Hard. Just to feel something again. And so I could get the hell out of that situation.” Leo rubbed the back of his neck nervously. “I saw you and I thought of that night. How fucked up it was and I was and well. Now I realize that night literally made my life hell for the past seven years.”

@ BadStreetBoys
Bella shook her head. "We can talk about that when we get back to New York." She said and giggled as his face light up. She chuckled as he peeked at her. She smiled and nodded. "Your right you don't have any problems now." She giggled as he said it loud and proud. She took his hand squeezing gently. "Sure if you want too." She said. "Take it easy though you are still getting back to food." She said. Bella listened as he talked about seeing her again after so long. She smiled and nodded. It had been the same for her but she hadn't thought of anyone but him. As she listened to him. Her eyes widened as he told her what he did to himself. That was so stupid. The glass could have gotten into his system and he could have hit an artery. She pulled his hand closer squeezing it gently in both of hers. She nodded and pressed his hand to her cheek. "I'm sorry you went through that. I'm sorry it ended how it did. I'm sorry you where in pain." She said. She was just surprised he had told her. The waitress came over and she smiled at her ordering the mozzarella sticks and a soda. She looked over at Leo letting him finish ordering. When the waitress left Bella looked back at him. She felt like it was a bad place to ask but she wanted to know. "Will you tell me what happened in High school when you where going to take your life?" She asked him.

@ Jinx...
Leo looked down at his feet after stalking. He knew it was stupid. But he was only 19 and had never learned how to properly express his emotions or anything like that. He sighed to himself and glanced up at her as she took his hand. “I’m sorry I was stupid.” He said with a nervous chuckle. “Listen, I never learned how to properly express my emotions and as a hormonal teenage dude I did what I knew best, violence.” He shook his head and gentle rubbed her face with his thumb. Leo looked down again and frowned at her question. “I don’t think a pizza place is the best place to discuss that, Liv.” He said nervously. It was an excuse, he wasn’t sure if he wanted to talk about that yet. If he did, however, it certainly wasn’t in public. It wasn’t even something he had included in his book, purposely leaving it out.

@ BadStreetBoys
Bella chuckled at his own apology. She listened to him and nodded. She leaned into his hand. She didn't like the frown that was there and nodded again. "Yeah your right." She said and looked away. She shook her head and looked back at him. "Besides this is suppose to be a date." She teased and smiled at him. "So if you could go anywhere in the world where would you go?" She asked with a smirk. The mozzarella sticks and drinks where placed in front of them and she smiled picking one up and dipping it in the red sauce before taking a bite grinning as she pulled to get the cheese to stretch. Bella knew he would always be important to her from the first moment she saw him. She wondered if he had felt it too or if that took time to develop. She looked him over remembering the baby faced kid with long hair. Now he had a 4oclock shadow growing and a body she could devour. She laughed silently to herself. She truly loved him and there was no more denying it ever again.

@ Jinx...
Leo nodded slightly. He was still nervous about talking about it with her. When Olivia said this was a date, and he saw that teasing smile he couldn’t help but smile too. “Exactly. We’re supposed to be happy.” He said. Leo took a mozzarella stick as he thought about the answer to her question. Though he didn’t dip his, he still strung the cheese out as long as it could go and laughed at the two of them. “I wanna go to Italy. I love pasta so I want some real Italian pasta.” He told her and took another bite of the mozzarella stick. “How about you?” He asked and took a small sip of his drink. He didn’t want to eat or drink too fast, worrying it would make him sick. He felt okay but he knew his body wasn’t back at 100% yet. Leo looked over Olivia’s features and smiled slightly. She had always been the most beautiful girl to him. Even when she had left their friend group and became friends with his bullies and all the popular kids, he still thought she was the best looking one.

@ BadStreetBoys
Bella grinned and nodded. She giggled as he laughed. She loved the sound of it. There was just something about it that felt like home. She grinned thinking of Italy and all the art. "Thats a good choice." She said and thought about it. "That's a hard question. I want to say Greece because I want to lounge around on the beach and there is something passionate and sexy about Greece. But I think I think I mist want to go to Ireland. It's a more homey place with so much history and culture. Its more dignified." She chuckled. She tilted her head. "Your staring at me." She said with a smile. She wasn't dressed up. Not even really all put together but it didn't matter because the way he looked at her made her feel beautiful and desirable. "Leo." She said softly after a while. "Thank you for always being my friend. Even when you didn't like me much." She said and took another mozzarella stick.

@ Jinx...
Leo listened as Olivia spoke. “Let’s go on a European tour when this movie is done.” He told her. “Seriously. I wanna visit Greece snd Scotland and Spain and France.” He said with a big grin. “You can do your photography and I can work on my new series and maybe something else. Just me and you and enjoying the scenery and the world.” He said and licked his lips as he thought about it. That would be a great trip. “I’m gonna be worth a lot after this movie.” He said with a wink. Leo took another mozzarella stick as the waitress brought over their pizza. “Thank you.” He murmured. Leo grabbed the red pepper flakes and sprinkled some onto his half of the pizza. “Think about it. I’m down. Maybe we could make it a big family thing and take Ricky and his girlfriend. I’m sure they’d give us plenty of space.” He said. Leo blushed deeper as she realized he was staring. “It’s because you’re beautiful.” He looked down at his feet. “Of course: thank you for being my friend even after I was an asshole.”

@ BadStreetBoys
Bella chuckled as he got excited about a European trip. She looked at him and chuckled more as he said he was serious. "Oh I believe you." She said and grinned. "I don't know maybe. I have to see what my options are after the movie. I might become very popular you know." She said. She shook her head still grinning as he talked about his worth. "Your already worth a lot... to me." She said softly. "I'll think about it but do you really want to take them when we are still new in our relationship?" Even after the movie finishes they would be in their first year. Bella blushed as he called her beautiful. It was such an easy thing for him to say but it meant something to her every time. She smiled as he thanked her. "You know I never felt good enough to be your friend. You where always so good to me."

@ Jinx...
“Oh honey, you know you’ll gonna be popular after this movie. For your photography and your creative mind. Maybe you’ll get into other movies.” He told her with a grin. “And of course if you have a job you wanna take I won’t ever stop you. But just think about what you could do in Europe. You could make a job out of it, while relaxing and vacationing. It’s not like photography is really a job to you. It’s your passion.” Leo laughed to himself as he got worked up over a vacation that might not even happen. He began to eat his pizza slowly. “Okay you have a point there. We can go alone.” He said snd grinned. “Honestly I’m fine with whatever I just wanna see the world with you by my side.” He continued to eat and just smile at Olivia. “Why?” He murmured and raised an eyebrow. He didn’t understand that. She was definitely better to him than vice versa. “You fed me and took care of me and loved me when I had nothing, Liv. You were the best friend I could have asked for.”

@ BadStreetBoys
Bella smiled. She felt like he really supported her dreams. Bella giggled as he tried to convince her to go to Europe with him. It wasn't a hard sell but she wasn't going to tell him that. She nodded. It was her passion and she loved it. It was the deadlines she hated. "Your adorable when your passionate about something." She said grinning. "I would love to spend time with your brother and meet his girlfriend but let's take it slow." She said and smiled. Bella blushed as he asked why she felt that way as a kid. "You got me and you took care of me in ways no one had before and that meant everything to me. I felt like a bumbling fool." Bella grinned as he told her how much she had meant to him. "I am glad." She said and ate her pizza. It was amazing to finally be completely open with Leo. They had worked so much out and where working to the same level of trust they had when they where kids. It seemed almost perfect.

@ Jinx...
Leo blushed snd rolled his eyes. “You think I’m always adorable so I dunno how much that says about me.” He said snd laughed softly. “You don’t think over ten years is slow enough?” He teased. Leo went back to eating. He was slow with his eating, not wanting to make himself sick. He would probably only have one slice and abs the rest for later. He looked down at the floor and his eyes travelled up his leg and to his thigh, he touched his leg and the scar through his jeans. He frowned thinking about how bad he let himself get with his drinking and his resentment towards Olivia. He hated thinking about how he wasted nearly 8 years of his life. “You deserved it. You have a kind soul.” He said as he looked back up at Olivia. “I think you’re overestimating me.” He said snd laughed. Leo finished off what he figured he should eat tonight. “I’m gonna get a box for the rest. I don’t think I can eat much more without getting sick.”

@ BadStreetBoys
Bella giggled. Okay that's true. You always are adorable. It just says your cute and sweet so its a good thing." She grinned. "Well yeah thats long enough but Ricky might not think so. Besides when he remembers me he'll remember how cool I am and want to spend more time with me. Are you ready to share?" She teased. She blushed and bit her lip. "Thank you Leo." She said softly. She finished a couple slices and sat back. "And I think you underestimate yourself." She said challenging how self talk. "Yeah I'm done too want to get a box for us?" She asked him. "Then do you feel up for a round of pinball?" She asked with a cute smile at him. She was worried about him getting depression. He had been through so much. She just wanted to help but she couldn't do everything, she couldn't fix him.

@ Jinx...
Leo smiled at Olivia as she spoke. Playfully rolling his eyes at her last comment. “I don’t know what his girlfriend would have to say about that.” He teased with a grin. “But hey I’m not jealous. I’ll share you.” He told her and reached out taking her hand, squeezing it gently. Leo smiled snd nodded. He looked over and waved the waiter over and asked for a box. He pulled his wallet out and laid his card on the table, on top of the bill. “I think that would be fun.” He told her. Leo took the box from the waited and loaded their leftovers into the box. When the waiter returned his with his card he slid it into his wallet. “Come on.” He murmured. He picked up the box in one hand, taking Olivia’s hand in his other as he walked towards the arcade area. “We should stay and play games for a bit. We’ve been in that hotel room far too long.”

@ BadStreetBoys
Bella gasped. "Dirty boy. Behave yourself." she said and smacked his arm playfully. She shook her head. "And you lie through your teeth. Remember when Andre suggested we play spin the bottle and when it landed on me you left the game? We where in 8th grade and you where so jealous I doubt anything really changed." She took his hand and grinned. She smiled watching him as he put away the pizza. She stood when they where ready to go. She walked with him to the arcades. Bella nodded. "Defiantly." she grinned looking around. "What do you want to do first?" she asked him because she didn't know how the greasy food was sitting in his stomach. She felt like this was the perfect first official date for them. Pizza and arcades. She looked at him sweetly. He was so protective. Everything about him said it from the way he walked to the way he took care of the pizza. She slipped next to him so her arm brushed against his as they walked her hand touching his here and there. She looked around and gasped. "They have a two player Pac-man, Pac-man and Mrs. Pac-man." she grinned bouncing. "We have to play this." she said looking at him pleadingly.