Hongice Week day 4! Letters
this is twice as long as i wanted it to beâŚâŚ. 4499 words
i read this one only once so iâm sure itâs full of mistakes. forgive me pls đ they might be ooc again but iâm lowk too tired to care
Emil opened his locker to find a letter laying on top of his books. It was the twenty fourth letter he received in the past few weeks and just like the previous ones it was packed in a pink envelope decorated with a ton of stickers. It was clear they were all made by the same person â his secret admirer!
They never signed the envelopes, not even using their initials, but they always put a little heart on top of the âiâ in his name.
At first Emil found it strange, maybe even a little creepy. Receiving love letters from a complete stranger was a bit scary to him, especially since they sometimes contained details only his closest friends could know. One of the first letters he got said âThe way you laughed and played with your hair during lunch yesterday was so cute!â. Was he being stalked?
He thought that maybe it was one of his friends, so he confronted Lily, because she also liked to write hearts instead of dots on is in peopleâs names, but she immediately denied writing the notes. She also reminded Emil of the fact that her older brother didnât let her date anyone and he has beaten up the last boy she had a crush on. She told him that she didnât want him end up hurt and Emil obviously had to believe her.
He asked Michelle about it too, but she said that Emil wasnât really her type, so it wasnât her making the letters either. It was a shame because Mich was one of the prettiest girls at school and it wouldâve been awesome if she liked him! She was so out of Emilâs league.
Thatâs when he thought it might have been Leon trying to boost Emilâs self-esteem, but toying with someoneâs feelings like that was cruel, and he knew Leon wasnât like that. This left him with Leonâs older sister, who loved hanging out with Lily and Michelle (though Leon said that if it was her, he would tell him immediately) and his classmates. Unfortunately, he was way too shy to talk to them yet, so he decided to wait and look for more clues in the gifts.
Ignoring the fact he didnât know the addressee, the letters were very cute. Sometimes they were simple messages like âI want to hug you! C:' or âYouâre sooo pretty!!!â, sometimes they were short poems and lyrics of old love songs, the other times plans for their future dates or the cute things they could do together if they were dating. He also got some sweets a couple of times, though they were always squished and crushed, so they could fit in the holes of his locker. He didnât want to admit it but with each letter he became more and more excited about the idea of meeting and maybe even dating his secret admirer. Thatâs why he came to school earlier than usually, hoping to catch her still hanging around his locker.
A loud thud caught his attention. He looked away from his letter and saw his friend leaning over his now closed locker.
âSupâ said Leon smiling at Emil âYouâve got another letter?â
âYeah... this one is a poem. Uh, âYour lips, your eyes, your hair, your smile. Youâre perfect for me. Why canât you be mine?ââ
âGod, this must be, like, the worst poem ever!â Leon laughed âAt least you know itâs not Shakespeare whoâs giving you these.â
âStop, itâs not that bad!â Emil replied looking down at the letter âYou wouldnât write anything better.â
Leon rolled his eyes âRight...â
âBesides, what are you doing at school now? I thought youâd be still asleep.â
âNothing.â He shrugged âMei woke me up and Yao was pissing me off, and I didnât want to, like, sit at home with them.â
Emil nodded and glanced at his watch. Their first period was going to start in over 20 minutes, so they had a lot of free time for themselves. He moved his eyes back to the letter and then at Leon who smiled when their eyes met. âDo you think sheâs at school now? Should we look for her?â
âWho? Mei or your little fan?â
Emil frowned. âMy fanâŚ? Mei doesnât even go to school with us, Leon.â
âUh, right. I guess we can look for them, but what if they gave you that letter yesterday, like, after school?â
Emil looked around the hallway and bit his lip. âWhy would anyone want to stay at school longer than necessary?â
âI donât know. Thatâs what I would do if I wanted to secretly give something to the love of my life.â
âDo you really think Iâm the love of her life?â Emil asked feeling his face get warm.
âI mean, maybe. Youâre, like, super cute, so why not?â Leon smirked. âWhere do you think they might be?â
âIâm not sure, I thought we could, uh, walk around the school and smile at people, and see how they react? Unless you have a better idea on how to find her.â
Leon raised his eyebrows visibly amused and chuckled leaning closer to Emil. âYou? Smiling at strangers?â He laughed in his face âI canât believe youâre so in love with them youâre going to, like, socialise all of a sudden!â
âShut up! Iâm not in love!â Emil hissed. He wouldâve yelled, but he didnât want people to stare at him. âWhatever. Letâs just go.â
Leon giggled and followed him. They started looking for her on the first floor. Emil really did smile at a few people, but only three of them smiled back. Leon, being the more outgoing one talked to a couple groups of other teenagers complimenting them and trying to strike up a conversation to see how they acted towards Emil. They also waited outside the girlâs bathroom in case she hid there.
âWhat if itâs not a girl, though?â Leon asked after a while. âWould you still, like, want to date them?â
Emil bit his lower lip again. âM-maybe...?â He sighed âI mean, I donât know, if he really likes me that much, then...â his cheeks were completely red now. He hated being pale and blushing so easily. Ever since Emil met Leon, he always wished he could look as cool and unbothered by anything as him. Not to mention his toned body... âI donât know, Leon. I donât think itâs a guy sending me those letters, anyway. Theyâre too girly!â
âYeah, I guess.â Leon looked around and took a deep breath. He wasnât smiling anymore. âDo you want to, like, check the second and third floor too or wait for Lily and Mich outside?â
âI think we can go outside. Iâll stay after school and look for her again.â
âAlright.â Leon headed towards the exit of their school.
The morning air was still a bit cold, but they could finally feel the spring in the air. Flowers in the school patio have bloomed adding some nice colour to the ugly, grey building. They sat at a table with a chess board carved into it before Leon spoke again.
âDid you do the biology homework?â
âYes, of course. It was very easy.â Emil smiled to himself.
âPerfect! Can I copy it? I didnât have time to do it yesterday.â Leon scratched his neck. He always did that when he was nervous or puzzled.
âWhat were you doing that made you so busy?â Emil asked raising an eyebrow. Knowing Leon, he probably had a lot of free time but was too lazy to study or completely forgot about it.
âHeh, I was playing Street Fighter.â He smirked
âYeah! Iâm a professional player; I need to grind a lot to stay in the top twenty.â Leon explained visibly proud of himself. Emil didnât understand his obsession with that old game. It seemed boring to him, how could Leon risk his grades just to play it?
âAnd then you wonder why your dad gets mad at you so much.â Emil rolled his eyes.
âCome on, itâs not like Iâm failing any subjects. He just expects me to have straight Aâs and, guess what, I do get them most of the time! I deserve to relax and do something fun sometimes!â
âRight, right...â He said opening his backpack. He took out his notebook and handed it to Leon who smiled and immediately started writing down the answers.
âThanks. Youâre the best, Ice!â
Emil folded his arms on the table and rested his head on them waiting for Leon to finish. He began to regret waking up so early and going to sleep late last night. He was feeling exhausted and really wished he could take a nap. Unfortunately, their first period was math, and the teacher was too strict to let him sleep.
He sighed and glanced at Leon. He carefully watched his focused face and how his eyes moved between the two notebooks. They seemed to glow in the golden light of the rising sun. He didnât want to admit it, even to himself, but he wished that the person sending him all the love letters would have eyes as beautiful as Leonâs. He felt like he could drown in them.
Before he realised five more minutes passed and he heard someone calling his name. He looked in their direction and smiled seeing Michelle running to him, holding Lilyâs hand.
âHi, guys!â She beamed and gestured Emil to scoot over so she could sit next to him. âWhat are you doing?â
âLeon forgot to do his homework again.â Emil replied resting his head once more.
âDid you get a letter today?â Lily asked excitedly
âYeah, itâs a poem.â Emil said and pulled it out of his pocket. He gave it to Lily who showed it to Michelle right after reading it.
âItâs cute! I wish someone liked me so much...â She whispered.
âYouâre not cute enough for that stuffâ Leon joked. âAnd your brother is, like, mean.â
âThatâs not true! Lilyâs the cutest girl on earth! Youâre the ugly and mean one here.â Michelle chimed in. âYesterday Lily even baked cookies for you guys, but now youâre not getting any.â She said making the girl giggle.
âOkay, Iâm sorry! I didnât mean it.â Leon apologised âWhat cookies did you make?â
âUh, just normal, chocolate ones!â Lily smiled shyly. She reached to her bag and pulled out a box them offering some to all her friends. They tasted good as always.
Emil looked at his watch. âWe should probably go. Math is going to start in three minutes.â He announced. Leon groaned and stood up from the bench. They all started packing their stuff and rushed to school hoping the teacher would be in a good mood.
The first three periods felt like hell. Emilâs lack of sleep made it hard to concentrate on anything, and he barely understood his teachers. He decided to skip PE and just watch his classmates play volleyball paying close attention to how they acted, to see who could have a crush on him. He almost got hit by the ball a few times.
During literature he snoozed off twice which made his teacher mad, and he had to answer every single question she asked. He even considered asking his brother to pick him up from school early, but Leon reminded him that he had to stay to catch his secret admirer and promised to help him with everything later.
When the school finally ended Emil felt like he was being released from prison. He said goodbye to Mich and Lily and headed towards his locker with Leon. They made sure to not stand too close to it, so they wouldnât scare his fan off.
âHow long do you think we have to wait?â He asked.
âI donât know. Probably until we see someone suspicious here.â Emil answered.
âAlright.â Leon sighed âYou know, Yao said that he will have to stay at work longer today, so... Do you want to come over and, like, stay for the night?â
âUh, sure. Iâll just tell Lukas.â He said taking out his phone from his backpack. He knew that Lukas would never let him hang out with Leon, especially on a school night, so Emil learned to just inform his brother about it instead of asking for his permission. He felt like it wasnât right, but at least it worked.
âShould we rewatch Rush Hour?â Leon asked.
âMaybe. Iâm hungry, though. I want to eat something first.â
âI have, like, a shit tone of liquorice at home. Iâll ask Cheng to buy us something for dinner.â
âUm, I thought we would make something ourselves.â said Emil âI donât want to be a burden or anything...â
âOh, please. Cheng loves you. He wonât die from ordering some food for us!â He laughed.
âAlright...â Emil looked at his locker. The hallway was almost completely empty. The only people being there werenât interested in Emil at all. He sighed. âWhat if she wonât give me another letter today? You know, I donât get them every day.â
âDunno. We can wait for, like, a bit more.â Leon shrugged. âUnless you really want to go home now.â
âWhat do you want for dinner? Iâm craving fish and chips.â
âI thought you didnât like fish.â Emil said turning to Leon.
âYeah, but it doesnât mean I canât, like, eat it.â Leon smiled âYou know, you smell like fish sometimes.â
âIâm serious. I mean, you eat fish every day, so of course youâre going to smell like it. Iâm surprised you didnât, like, grow fins yet.â He laughed. Emil hoped he was just joking.
âWhatever, I donât care.â
âI never said it was a bad thing!â Leon kept laughing.
âRight.â He rolled his eyes. He looked at his locker again. No one was standing anywhere near it. âI think we can go home.â
âOkay. Iâll text Cheng to get us food.â Leon replied with a smile on his face.
âNo, he took a day off. Technically Iâm grounded, so heâs home to make sure that I donât misbehave or anything.â
âWhy are you grounded again?â Emil asked in disbelief.
âI didnât fold the laundry last Tuesday.â
âAm I even allowed to come to your house?â
âUh, I donât think you are, but Yao said that youâre always welcome there so, like, who cares.â Leon smirked. It wasnât the first time he ignored the fact he was grounded. Leon stopped listening to his father long ago. Clearly, pissing him off was something he loved doing. Emil sighed and shook his head.
They walked out of school and headed towards Leonâs home. He didnât live far from it, so they didnât need to take a bus. One the way they stopped in a small store to buy some snacks. Leon picked popcorn and his favourite chips, while Emil said that the liquorice Leon had at home was enough for him.
When they finally got there Cheng welcomed them with tea. He said that their food should be there in less than thirty minutes and told them to do their homework. Leon told him about his day and asked if he wanted to watch Rush Hour with them. Cheng politely declined.
âItâs your loss.â Leon answered. He started unpacking his backpack and put all the books he needed on the table.
âDo you have a lot of studying to do?â Cheng asked them.
âNo, not really.â Emil said also digging in his backpack looking for the right notebooks.
âGood. Call me if you will need help with anything!â He smiled and disappeared in his bedroom.
âDo you think I can make myself some coffee? Iâm tired.â Emil turned to Leon.
âYeah, of course. You donât need to ask.â He replied opening his history textbook. Leon wasnât a big fan of it. He preferred maths and physics. He could never remember the important dates or names of the big historical figures. âCan you get me a glass of water, please?â
Emil nodded and walked to the kitchen. He visited Leonâs house thousands of times before, but he still felt like he had to ask for permission to do anything, even though Yao stopped treating him like a guest long ago. He often made him do the dishes or sweep the floors. Lukas treated Leon the same way in their home.
He opened a cabinet and took out his favourite mug and a glass for Leon. He started preparing coffee for himself and while he waited for water in the kettle to boil, he filled his friendâs glass with cold one, straight from the fridge. Emil opened another cabinet looking for his beloved liquorice. He filled his mouth with it the moment he found it.
When his coffee was done, he returned to Leon. He thanked him for the water and gulped it down in a second.
âDo you want some?â Emil asked offering him liquorice.
âNo, ew.â He made a disgusted face âI donât know how you can eat that stuff. Itâs so gross.â
Emil ignored his comment and looked at the first question in the textbook. He sighed and wrote down his answer, then repeated the process until his homework was done. He helped Leon with biology again and allowed him to copy his answers to the history quiz.
Their food arrived soon after and just as Emil expected Leon didnât like his fish. He ended up giving Leon half of his fries and eating his fillet. Leon made himself a few sandwiches and told him that he wonât be hungry when he will eat the snacks they bought.
They went to Leonâs room and sat on his bed. He opened his laptop and put on the movie. They watched it almost every time they hung out, yet somehow Leon was never bored of it. He laughed at every single funny scene no matter how many times he has seen them. Emil didnât know why he liked that film so much. To him it was just like thousands of other action movies. It wasnât even that funny.
He guessed he only watched because of Jackie Chan. When Leon came out as bisexual, he told him that the actor was one of his many gay awakenings. Later he said that he wasnât even his type but never cared to describe how his perfect partner would look like. He still had tons of posters of him in his room.
Emil felt his eyes get heavy. The coffee he drank earlier didnât help him much. He yawned and stretched trying to get the sleep out of his head. Leon obviously noticed it.
âAre you alright?â He asked pausing the film. They were an hour and twenty minutes in.
âYeah, just⌠sleepy.â
âItâs still early, though. What were you doing last night?â
âStudying. I slept less than six hours.â Emil muttered.
âHuh, itâs not that bad.â
âIt is bad. I always sleep around, uh, ten hours a day.â
Leon laughed âWhat are you, a baby?â
âShut up.â He said yawning again.
âAlright, alright. I guess we can go to sleep soon if you want. Wanna take a shower now orâŚ?â Leon asked
âSure.â He replied turning off his laptop. He walked over to the closet and pulled out an old t-shirt and lose shorts. He also picked some clothes for Emil, as he didnât bring his own, and threw them at him. Emil thanked him and watched him leave the room.
He laid on Leonâs bed and closed his eyes. It smelled like him and Meiâs expensive shampoo. She told them many times to not use it, but Leon must have done it anyway. He chuckled quietly.
He decided to message his brother again. Every time Emil would spend the night at his friendâs houses Lukas would call him to make sure that he was feeling well and say goodnight. He found it pretty embarrassing since he wasnât a child anymore and he could take good care of himself. He didnât need his brother to check up on him all the time.
He stared at their chat for a second before writing âIâm alive. We ate fish and chips and weâre going to sleep now. Goodnight.â. He didnât expect his bother to answer right away. He was always busy reading his favourite books about magic. Emil thought that Lukas should grow out of it soon because believing in fairies at his big age was stupid.
Emil got up and walked over to Leonâs desk. He sat at the chair wanting to check his social media when he noticed something pink laying between Leonâs books. He pulled it and saw that it was an envelope. It looked exactly like the ones he was getting from his admirer. Not wasting any time, he opened it and found a letter inside of it.
âEmil, you are the best person I have ever met. Every time I see you, I feel like my heart is going to burst. Hearing your voice is like listening to the most beautiful song in the entire world, maybe even better! I wish I could kiss you, thatâs all I dream of every night. I think Iâm in love!â
He read it over and over again. The handwriting was the same, the stickers were similar and there was a heart on top of the âiâ in his name too. Emil could feel his soul escaping his body.
He opened a drawer in the desk and found a few more envelopes, all containing various notes. He also found a notebook filled with love poems. They were surprisingly good. Did Leon write them? Why would he do that? Was it some kind of an unfunny joke? Did Leon like him? Was Leon in love with him?
Suddenly the door to Leonâs room opened. Emil jumped and stared at his friend. He stood in the doorway, his hair was wet and he didnât even put his shirt on. Emil was sure was going to pass out in that moment.
âWhat are you doing?â Leon asked seeing Emilâs expression.
âNothing.â He whispered still not moving. It took Leon a second to notice his stuff sitting on the desk, but once he saw it his heart dropped.
âWhat are you doing?!â He repeated this time visibly upset. He ran to Emil and pushed him out of the way, trying to hide the letters from him again. It was pointless now.
âWhat are you doing!â Emil yelled âWhy are you writing these things to me?!â
âWhy would you go through my stuff? You werenât supposed to see that!â
âWhat kind of a sick joke is this? You think this is funny?â He cried. His eyes watered, he couldnât believe he developed feelings for his secret admirer just for them to turn out to be completely fake.
âItâs not a joke.â Leon answered harshly.
âThen what is it?â Emil kept pushing.
Emil breathed hard. He was staring at Leon, but he didnât look back at him. âWhy would you do that?â
Leon was silent. His eyes were glued to the floor, and his bangs completely covered his face.
âGod, I hate you.â Tears rolled down Emilâs cheeks. He didnât mean it, but he was so disappointed. How could the person he trusted the most in the whole world do something that terrible to him.
âEmilâ Leon finally glanced up at him but just a second later he was looking down again.
âIâm sorry! I-I⌠I didnât know how else to tell you.â He mumbled.
âTell me what?â Emil asked again moving closer to Leon. He started backing up, trying to escape his friends angry gaze, but his back hit the wall and he couldnât escape anywhere.
Leon began sobbing too. It was the first time Emil had seen him cry. He felt vulnerable and the fact that he was half naked didnât help at all.
âTell me what?!â Emil yelled putting his hands on Leonâs shoulders. He was fully trapped.
Leon covered his face with his hands and took a shaky breath. âTell you thatâŚâ he gulped âthat Iâm in love with you.â. He mumbled hoping that Emil wouldnât hear it. âGod, I donât know, I kind of hoped that one day you would be, like, so in love with your âadmirerâ, that you wouldnât be able to wait any longer to meet them, and thatâs when I would tell you, that it was me the whole time, and⌠Iâm sorry, Emil, this is stupid.â He sobbed and slid down the wall to his knees. His whole body was shaking. His plan was ruined and his best friend was mad at him. He wanted the ground to open underneath him and swallow him whole.
Emil stared at him. Leon looked like a kicked puppy. He sighed âYouâre so dumbâŚâ he whispered.
âIâm sorry. You werenât supposed to find out this wayâŚâ He said again curling up in a ball.
âDo you, uh⌠Do you really mean it, Leon?â Emil asked after a brief moment.
He looked up at him and wiped his tears. âYes.â
Emil nodded and knelt beside Leon not saying anything.
âIâm sorry, Emil. Donât leave me, please. I canât live without you!â He begged. Emilâs light eyes seemed to pierce his body. A wave of nausea hit him but before something could happen Emil hugged him and pulled him onto himself.
Leon instantly hugged him back, burying his face in his friendâs neck. He could feel his body relax, though he still trembled.
âI could never leave you.â Emil whispered into his ear. He moved his hand to his hair and started playing with it softly. After a minute, when Leon calmed down a little Emil pulled back and took a deep breath. His cheeks were pink. âCan we, uh⌠take things slowâŚ?â
Leon opened his eyes widely âY-You want to be my boyfriend?â he asked in disbelief.
âWell, I mean⌠The letters were cute.â He blushed harder âAnd, um, weâre close friends, anyway⌠And if you like me so much, then⌠W-why not?â He stuttered looking away.
Leon smiled and squeezed Emil once more. He felt tears fill his eyes again, but this time they werenât sad. Emil sighed and patted his naked back.
âDonât tell anyone about us, pleaseâŚâ
âOf course! We donât have to rush anything.â Leon reassured him. They smiled at each other and giggled.
âOkay, but seriously⌠You couldâve just told me that you liked me, you know?â Emil said biting his lower lip.
Leon scratched his neck âYeah, sorry.â he apologised and kissed Emilâs cheek gently.
On the next day, when they met up with Lily and Michelle at school, and they asked Emil if he got a new letter, they chuckled together.
âNo, but I hope I will get a poem next time. I think I like them the most.â
is anyone even reading ts?
