Cobweb Head

e i g h t e e n

The conversation I had overheard in the headmaster's office replayed over and over again in my mind. I sat at the desk, hoping to study even with an empty stomach, but no matter how hard I tried I was unable to focus.

The sun had disappeared below the horizon, and night had settled in. Leo had just walked into the dorm when the end of my pencil snapped.

I cursed, spinning around in my chair to meet him.

He titled his head. "I didn't see you at dinner."

I sunk deeper into the seat, and my eyes darted to the side. "I – I couldn't with all those people."

He nodded slowly, perching himself against the edge of his bed. Lines of concern traced his brows. "You seemed a little off today."

I glowered. "I'm fine."

He lifted his hands up lazily. "Okay, I'll back off."

I sat cross-legged on the seat as Leo went to wash up, resting my cheek on a fist as I pressed my elbows into the desk. I had to ask him about Rosebud Tower and what he knew about Grimm's eerie conversation. Maybe I could get him to go down to the archives again.

I heard him step out of the bathroom and smelt the familiar soapy steam. I opened my mouth to talk, but he was quick to speak before me. "If you're still hungry, we could go down now and get some food."

"Everyone's asleep." I spun around to meet him.

"I've got a master key, remember?" A wicked grin creased his lips.

My stomach churned, and I almost returned the smile. Almost. "Sounds good."

|||

We snuck into the kitchen.

I had a torch clasped in a tight fist, immediately anxious of being caught. I stood stiffly next to a kitchen bench as Leo searched the cupboards. I wondered if the wound on his arm had healed over as he stretched up to snatch at a box of cereal.

He scrambled to catch the box as it dropped, grinning clumsily as he read the bold letters at the front. "Cocoa Puffs."

"This is dumb – I can wait until morning." I licked my lips anxiously.

"Sorry, but that's the stupidest thing I've ever heard." He searched the drawers without looking at me, lifting out two bowls. "I've done this a million times."

I watched as he shovelled the cereal into the bowls, pouring in milk afterwards. He had a lopsided smile slapped across his face as he dropped the spoons into the cereal. He slid one of the bowls across the counter towards me.

I sat the torch down, the white light casting shadows across the walls like black stains. I clasped the bowl in pale hands. "I've got to talk to you about something."

"Is this going to be about the Frights?"

I looked up at him. "Yes."

"Then it can wait." He perched an elbow against the bench.

I frowned at him. "You're not serious?"

"All we ever talk about is the Frights, let's talk about something else for once." A dark curl fell across his forehead. "What was your life like before Windsor's?"

I shifted, gulping down a mouthful of cereal. "You want to know more about me?"

"Yeah." A smile tugged at his lips.

"I, uh..." A bitter taste had entered my mouth. "I went to a school very different from this one. It was kind of shit. Out in the country."

"It's crazy how far away Windsor's picks up kids, like, you're from the other side of the world." His eyes lit up. "I'm from New York, so I can't say much."

I grinned. "New York? I've always wanted to go there."

"Maybe I could take you someday – It's never boring. Never." His words were muffled through a mouthful of cocoa puffs. "What about your family?"

I didn't feel too uneasy anymore.

"My dad raised me, but I didn't really know my mum, she left us when I was little." I looked down at my bowl of cereal. Hell, these were good. Why didn't I eat these every day? The dull ache of homesickness needled my chest. "What about you?"

"Well, I came from a very big family. It was sometimes a little exhausting." He laughed lightly. "I'm kind of relieved to get away from them – god, that sounds bad."

"No way." I looked up. "I know that feeling."

He raised his brows. "You know what's concerning? The fact that this has been the only time I've seen you genuinely smile. I feel like I should pay you or something."

I shovelled a spoonful of cereal into my mouth. "That'll be five bucks please, an extra ten for the smile with teeth." I rolled my eyes, a pulse quickening at the sound of Leo's laughter. I stared down into the cereal. The cocoa puffs crackled softly.

"Is that an attempt at humour I hear?" He wiggled his eyebrows at me.

"Shut up." I tried, I really tried, to keep the smile from my lips. But to no avail. We fell into a comfortable silence for a long moment, before I cleared my throat. I picked my next words carefully. "So, uh, what's the deal with you and Mae?"

He frowned in confusion; lips pinched into a thin line as he thought. "What do you mean?"

"You seem close. Are you two... together?" I leaned closer.

"What? No, we're just friends. Good friends, but that's all. I wouldn't – yeah, no." He glanced off to the side, gulping down something as a light blush crawled up his neck. "You nearly done?"

I gulped down the last spoonful of cereal. "Uh, yup."

He took my bowl gently, placing the dishes into the broad sink as his eyes flashed. "I want to show you something."

I groaned. "I don't really feel like going nightmare hunting tonight, Leo—"

"No, it's not that. You'll like it." He wandered to the exit, and I think he expected to walk away mysteriously, still watching me, but instead he hit his side on the edge of the counter. I smirked.

I followed him down the halls, the torch clasped in a sweaty grip, and we went up a set of stairs. He opened the doorway at the very end of it.

I knew I was being lead outside the moment the rigid air struck my skin, a broad balcony stretching out further in front of us. I spoke quietly. "I swear to god, if I get murdered up here, I'm going to kill you."

He ignored what I had said, but his smile broadened. "When I first got to Windsor's, I used to come up here all the time. It helped with the homesickness." He placed himself against the concrete ground, laying down and looking up at the sky. He patted the space next to him.

I went to lay next to him uncomfortably, watching the breath leave his lips in a small white cloud. He scoffed. "Don't look at me, look up."

I directed my stare up at the sky as heat rushed to my cheeks. I was grateful for the darkness. Stars were brindled across the sky, accompanied by almost a thousand different hues of purple and blue. It was strange to think that plenty of these stars were dead, light-years away, and that only now did their former light softly touch the Earth's sky. It was almost poetic.

I chewed against my bottom lip. "Leo, I still need to talk to you about the Frights."

He was silent for a moment. "Let's talk about it tomorrow."