It was a simple, yet pointed observation made one day that prompted the conversation.

Leon, Chris and Carlos were hanging out in the school’s track and field, lounging by the bleachers as they usually did during their lunch break, talking amongst themselves about the upcoming football game. All was well, but it was the effortless action of Leon extending his arms out to stretch his muscles that caught the attention of his friend's sharp gaze, seeing that the long-sleeve of his letterman jacket slid down an inch or two. 



“Hey, dude, what’s that?” Carlos suddenly asks Leon, his eyes fixed on the thin, black band on his wrist, lightly nudging his chin in its direction. The blonde let out a small hum in question, raising a quizzical brow at him.

“What’s what?” Leon threw back, confused, as he casually leaned back against the metal benches, his hands clasped and tucked behind his head in a resting position, kicking his feet up against the lower seats. 



“That—” Carlos reiterated, pointing a finger at his left wrist. Chris then looks over as well, now eyeing the seemingly inconspicuous band. It was a very insignificant thing to point out. It wouldn’t really mean anything to anyone at first glance, since it was just a plain hair-tie.

Though, Carlos was more attuned than others, always ever pedantic when it came to minute details. It was an impressive trait, but sometimes, it was at the cost of his friends' dignity. It was what made him such a pain the ass, since he'd use it to his advantage to light-heartedly poke fun them, mockingly goading the smallest of slip-ups.

Leon follows his line of sight, and lightly shrugs his shoulders in response.

“What—this?” He brings his wrist into view, his finger hooking onto and tugging at the elastic before flicking it back against himself with a soft ’thwack’. “What about it?” Leon casually asks, not making a big deal about it. Though, he also doesn’t really properly acknowledge it for what it was.

“I don’t know. Just wondering why you'd be wearing that, is all,” Carlos then poses as he briefly looked at the blonde's hair. “It's not like you need it. Your hair isn't even that long to tie it back.” It wasn't exactly a fashion statement either. It was lowkey.

Leon subtly purses his lips at his keen observation. “Yeah, and so what?” He ends up answering with another question—though, that was a mistake on his behalf. It left an implication in the air. It was subtle, but of course, Carlos picked it up in an instant as a slow grin tugged on his lips, a knowing glint flashing in his gaze.

“...Oh?”

Leon was familiar with that tone—all too well, in fact, and he forcibly bites back the groan that threatened to leave him.

The thing was, Leon had secretly been dating someone for over two weeks now—and that being you. You both decided to keep it under wraps for the time being, because one: you weren’t used to the attention; and two: Leon had too much of it.

After all, he was the high-school's charismatic, star football player and senior, who had college recruiters seeking him out in every competition. Meanwhile, you were just little, shy and inconspicuous you. A wallflower of a sweetheart. It happened spontaneously one day and neither of you saw it coming. But then again, there was that saying: 'opposites attract'. It seemed that you two weren't an exception to that.

The hair-tie itself was meant to be a small token of your newfound relationship. It was discreet, but otherwise, a sign of your growing affections for one another—a sweet, little reminder that he was yours, and vice versa. You thought it was a cute and Leon followed along, thinking the same.

Though, he should've known better than to think it would slip from his friends' nosey asses.