Israel

Leo Astelli. That boy was unlike any other. His curly brownish red hair was engraved into my mind. And his startling bright jade green eyes were dancing in my brain. When he got embarrassed, and his face turned brighter than a cherry? So cute. His height was hilarious when he stood by my side. Leo looked about 5’4, while I was 5’9. But in the end, his amazing personality and kindness were what truly caught my eye.

It was clear he loved his little sister and his family. If only I was more like him.

But I wasn't. Ever since my parents got a divorce and my mom married Asher, I distanced my self from the rest of my family.

But how could someone like him ever love me. I was nothing to look at. My sloppy black hair hung over my ugly black eyes. I looked like a vampire from Twilight.

Leo, on the other hand, had perfect golden skin, dark green eyes and perfectly tousled light brown hair. I felt like I couldn't even compare to him.

When the elevator stopped at my floor, I somberly stepped out and walked to the apartment at the very end of the hall. I took out my key from my left back pocket. I lifted the key up to the door knob and spun it around until I heard the click. I pushed open the door to see my two little brothers, Andor and Jacob, playing with blocks on the floor.

They ignored me and I ignored them. I then proceeded to stomp of to my bedroom. When I opened the door, I walked in and flopped onto my bed.

I rolled onto my side and made an attempt to take a nap. But I just couldn’t sleep. All I really wanted was to see Leo again. I just couldn’t stop thinking about him. And the really annoying part was that rumors flown around at school saying that I was gay. To think that those rumors were true.

I rolled back over to face my alarm clock. 6:37. I wasn’t tired, but I didn’t want to face my mom and Asher for dinner. So I laid down on my back and went to sleep, hoping to dream of Leo.

Around 2:30, I lie awake in my bed. So, I do what I always do when I can’t sleep; walk to the top of the apartment complex. I sat up and grabbed my leather jacket from the floor. I stood up and walked over to my closet. I put on a pair of black pants and a white T-shirt. Then I headed towards my door.

I slowly open my door, then tiptoe towards the front door. Once I’m safely outside, my feet stand flat on the floor. Then I start out towards the elevator.

When I’m inside the elevator, I press the 31 button, the one that takes me to the roof. Suddenly, the elevator shaft jerks and sends me upwards.

A couple of moments later, the doors open up to a starry sky and skyscrapers shooting up to the heavens. I walk out and stare at the endless night sky.

I then turn to sit down on the cold concrete and with the warm September air circulating around me. After sitting in silence for a couple of minutes, the elevator beeps. I sprang to my feet and expected to see my mother, eyes blazing, ready to drag me back to my room.

But when the doors open, I see Leo stand there in black sweat pants and a black hoodie. That was definitely a good choice. The boy really had nice taste.

When Leo sees me, his face turns brighter than Mars.

“Oh, um, hi Israel”, he said nervously ,”What are you doing up here?”

“I come up here when I can’t sleep”, I replied rather quickly ,”What are you doing up here?”

“Stella was snoring so I couldn’t sleep”, he responded ,”mind if I stay up here with you?”

I nodded, then motioned for Leo to come and sit by me.

“Sorry if I didn’t ask early, but what grade are you in?” I asked curiously ,”Also what school are you going to?”

“I’m a sophomore at Gordon High school”, replied Leo.

“That’s amazing”, I cried ,”that’s the school I go to!”

A smile broke onto Leo’s face.

“Terrific”, responded Leo.

Over the course of the next several hours, I asked a ton of questions about where Leo came from, what his family was like, stuff like that. Turns out that Leo was from New York City, but his mom was from Italy and he had an older sister. Talk about being outnumbered by girls.

“What about your dad?”, I asked curiously. Big mistake.

Leo’s head faced the ground.

“My dad died of kidney cancer when I was 6”, he said somberly.

My heart throbbed. Guilt washed over me like a huge tsunami.

“Oh no”, I said ,”I’m so sorry I asked”.

A tear slid down Leo’s face.

“No, it’s ok”, he assured ,”He had been sick since before I was born. I guess it was just his time. Well, the sun’s rising. Better go back to our apartments”.

“No. I shouldn’t have asked. That was wrong of me”, I insisted.

“Okay”, Leo said quietly ,”We should go”.

“Yeah, okay”, I replied ,”We should do this again”.

“Definitely”, Leo responded as we were getting up to leave.

“Well, see you around Leo Astelli”, I said as I entered the elevator.