Teaching Mia

Chapter 6 - Letting Go

Friday night, Leo picked Mia up to go to the concert. She was a bit hesitant about their so-called date and couldn't help but think about what Melissa had told her earlier.

"Are you okay over there, Mia? You seem a bit quiet. No 21 questions today?" They had been riding silently in his car when Leo broke the question.

"Yeah, I'm fine. I still can't believe I'm actually going to this concert." Mia tried to change the focus off of her, but Leo wouldn't have it.

"Listen, Mia. I know you've had a tough week, but you should try to relax okay? Have a little fun. You deserve it." Leo's words seemed so completely honest she just had to believe him.

"I know, you're absolutely right," Mia confessed.

"I'm always right," Leo said with a smirk on face. "Look, I promise we're going to have a blast tonight. There's just one thing I need to warn you about. It kind of has to do with the torture talk from before."

Oh, God. Was he expecting something out of this? Before Mia could let her imagination run wild, Leo pressed on.

"I got these tickets through my brother. He always has these crazy connections, so they're actually box seats."

A look of surprise came over her face. "Well, what's wrong with that?" She didn't understand where he was going.

"I guess nothing wrong, really. Only that I'm sure there's going to be a lot of stuffy people there that think they're hot shit. So I don't want you to feel weird or out of place by them."

"I think I can handle it," Mia responded. "We're here for the concert anyway, right?"

Was he always this concerned for other people's feelings?

"Me gusta tu actitud," Leo stated simply.

"Leo? In case I forget to thank you later, I had a really great time tonight."

His smile seemed to radiate throughout the car. "It's my pleasure, Mia. But the night is young."

Once they arrived at El Palacio de Deportes, Mia couldn't contain her excitement. She was at a Kings of Leon concert for Christ's sake! She had actually been chasing them for quite a while and had missed them a few times both in New York and Mexico City.

Plus, did she need to bring up the fact that she was on a hot date? A really hot date. Too hot for her, at least. So what if the rumors about him were true? The least she could do was enjoy it while it lasted, right?

Leo escorted them to their box, and Mia felt completely taken aback when they stepped inside. Sure enough, the room was filled with Barbie doll looking girls and preppy guys wearing way too much gel in their hair and ostentatious watches on their wrists.

"Looks like the plastic is bouncing tonight," Leo whispered jokingly into her ear and she couldn't help but laugh. Instantly, she felt more comfortable. Leo said hi to a few people he recognized, and introduced Mia to them. While the guys seemed pretty much indifferent towards her, the girls offered her fake smiles and caught a couple of them giving her death looks.

"I think your warning was a bit of an understatement," Mia whispered back.

"If you feel uncomfortable we don't have to stay here. That's the last thing I want."

"Don't worry. I'm used to it. I see this kind of thing in New York all the time. It can be even worse at times in Mexico City, believe it or not. People just like to show off I guess," she said.

"Well in that case, let me get us some drinks. Vodka tonic?"

"How'd you know?" Could he read her mind?

"I've been stalking you remember?" Leo answered jokingly. "I'll be right back."

Mia took a moment to appreciate the view from the box. She could see the entire stadium so clearly. It was really something else. She had never had box seats for a concert before. The only other time was when she was younger during a soccer match. A boy from her class had invited a bunch of people to his box, and she could still clearly remember how much fun it had been. But that had been years ago.

"Are you here with Leo? How did you manage to pull that off?"

Why does everyone keep saying that?Mia turned around to see one of the Barbie dolls staring her down. She had long platinum blond hair, boobs popping out of her shirt, a skirt that was way too short, and killer platform heels. Could she be more of a stereotype?

"We're just friends," Mia managed to say.

"That's what I thought. I mean how could he possibly be interested in you? Please." Barbie doll flipped her hair at the rhetorical question.

Mia hated to admit it, but she knew she was right. With a sigh, she turned back to admire the view and felt a lump in her throat. Why did girls have to be so bitchy all the time? And worse, how come she could never defend herself?

"Beautiful isn't it? The view isn't too bad either." Leo materialized behind Mia, his hands filled with drinks and a wide grin spread across his face. "I got us some shots too, I felt like you could use it...unless...what's wrong? You don't do shots?"

Before Mia could answer, he placed himself in front of her, cutting Barbie off behind him. He leaned over and gently kissed Mia right beside the corner of her mouth. To an outsider, it would have seemed like a real kiss on the lips.  

She heard Barbie huff behind Leo, and then mumbled something about just friends before storming off. Her juvenile act brought a smile to his face.

"Guess my plan worked like a charm. I'm sorry about that sweetness, I don't know what's wrong with her."

It took a moment for Mia to react. "Did you...use to date or something?"

"Not at all. I've only met her a few times before, but she's always desperately trying to get my attention. Don't listen to her, okay? She's not worth it. And please don't believe what she said for even a second."

Mia nodded and gave a sigh of relief. "Why don't we just get back to the concert?" she suggested.

"Okay, so here's the plan. First, we have the shots. I wasn't kidding with what I said before – you need to take the edge off. And then we get the hell out of here."

"You want to leave the concert?" Mia asked incredulously.

"No, I have a better plan. Do you trust me?" Leo raised his shot glass to her.

Mia didn't answer, but simply raised her glass to his before smiling. "Salud," she said before they both tossed down the shot.

Leo reached down and clutched her hand. "Vamos." Next thing she knew, they were running down an aluminum stairwell. "You never told me what your favorite Kings of Leon song was."

"There's too many," Mia answered. "But I guess if I had to pick one it would be 'Taper Jean Girl', it's an earlier song of theirs and not so well known."

"I know that one. It's on the soundtrack of that movie Disturbia." They reached the bottom of the stairs.

"Yeah, that's exactly right. I can't believe you know that."

"There are a lot of things you don't know about me. We better hurry, I think they're about to start." Leo led her through a massive crowd of people on the bottom floor. They reached a security guard and he quickly flashed him their tickets to enter a VIP area near the stage.

 "Leo, we're so close! Why didn't you tell me we had access down here before?" Mia asked.

"We don't. I just acted like we did. Sometimes it's the illusion that counts," he said, winking at her. At that moment, a gargantuan applause and cheer erupted in the stadium as the group took the stage. The bass from 'Sex on Fire' began and the crowd went wild.

Mia glanced over to look at Leo. She could feel the electricity sizzling around them. She felt like she was floating. "So what do you think?" she asked with a smile that seemed to cover from ear to ear.

Leo took her hand and stared deeply into her eyes. "I think our lives are about to change."

Mia looked back towards the stage, wondering what he could have possibly meant by that statement. Too afraid to ruin the moment, she decided to get lost in it instead.