Fearless

Chapter 24

My mouth managed to literally drop open and my eyebrows rose in shock. I certainly wasn't expecting that and I was not prepared in the slightest.

"W-What? Me? R-Really?" I stuttered out, not grasping the ability to form words.

"No, of course not. You should see your face." he replied, as he started to laugh uncontrollably.

"Phew." I sighed. "I mean- N-no- you know what I mean."

"Skylar, chill. I'm just messing with you. I'm talking about Leanne." he said as he calmed down.

"Leanne? Really? That's great!"

"Really? You think I've got a chance?" he asked.

"Of course you do! I mean, Leanne likes to keep things like this pretty private but I can tell she likes you." I replied genuinely.

"Well, I was wondering if you could help me. I want to ask her out but I don't know her well enough yet to know what she likes and we can't even leave the house right now. What do you think she'd want to do on a first date? If she even says yes. Do you think she'd be okay just hanging at my place?" he rambled nervously

"She'll definitely say yes Nick, don't worry about that. It's the thought that counts and she'll appreciate the fact that you're going through all of this effort."

"That's good to know."

"Well the first thing to know is that you can't tell Hailey or Ryan about your plans. They cannot keep their mouths shut. The only reason Hailey could keep my secret about Jake was because she likes keeping secrets from the boys, but she would never be able to keep something like this from Leanne."

"Okay, noted." he laughed.

"Even though Leanne acts tough, she's a softy at heart, okay? So don't be intimidated. If you're just going to do it at your place, why don't you cook her dinner or something? Then see if she wants to watch a movie. Just keep it simple and it'll be fine." I suggested.

"Yeah, that could work. Thanks Sky, you've been a great friend since I've moved here. I didn't really have anyone back in Italy apart from my Dad." he said.

"I'm sorry to hear that, what about your Mom?" I asked obliviously.

"Ha, Savannah is not my Mom. She's anything but." he scoffed.

"Oh, I'm sorry I didn't realise." I said, mentally scolding myself for my mistake.

"No it's fine. I can see why you'd think that. I've never known my Mom, she ditched as soon as I was born. It's just been me and Dad ever since."

"I'm so sorry Nick, that's awful." I said, placing my hand on his shoulder for comfort.

"No it's fine, honestly. My Dad's my best friend, I don't need anyone else. He could've left me too but after being an orphan himself he promised to give me the best life he could, and he's lived up to that promise my whole life. I'm lucky to have him, I just wish he hadn't fallen for that woman." he explained.

"Sounds like your Dad and my Mom didn't have the easiest time growing up." I said.

"I know right, I'm glad they had each other though."

"I know it's not my place, but if you don't mind me asking, why do you hate Savannah so much? What did she do?" I asked, pressured by my own selfish curiosity.

"She hasn't exactly done anything. I just get a bad vibe from her you know? She's never tried hard with me and personally I just think she's after Dad's money. She doesn't treat him right." he said.