The Less I Know ,, The Better

glossed lips slightly parted to utter any words in hopes of breaking the apprehension she had felt inside, dia was about to spill out the first thing she could ad lib, until leo’s quick movements, getting between her and the stranger, left the brunette tongue tied. at the very first spark of tension between the two males, dia wanted more than anything to place herself in between, to grab leo’s hand and drag him away from this entire situation, or even for anything to happen to stop what was inevitably about to happen. it didn’t even matter how many insults were thrown her way, as long as it got them out of this situation. her mind immediately drowning in regret for even bringing up the idea of coming here in the first place, as if she didn’t know any better from her past experiences. as soon as the first punch was thrown, every fiber of dia’s being froze, as if someone held a remote that controlled her muscles and hit ‘pause’, the cracking of the stranger’s nose followed by the screams caused the entire room to spin, and with every single swing, she became more and more nauseous yet her body still refused to move. the next thing she knew, they were going down the elevator, out the door, and into the sidewalk, the regular honking of cars and rapid footsteps snapping her back to reality.

“i’ll call a cab,” was all she could mutter quietly, hugging her jacket closer to her chest like a safety blanket. hitching for the closest yellow vehicle, dia got into the back seat wordless, unsure of what to say or even what to feel. the man she had just witnessed was not the same leo she knew- he was more vicious and violent, causing a part of her to be afraid of what he’s truly capable of. but the other half knew that deep down, it was still the same guy who had been vulnerable with her while cooking dinner. eyes that had been kept averted the entire time, moved to gaze at the bloody knuckles mere inches away from her. ruminating what just happened over her head, leo’s intention became clear; but that didn’t mean it completely eased her fear. pristine digits moved to cover the red streaked ones as dia did the only thing she could think of, a wordless way of gratitude for having stood up for her. maintaining her hand over his, dia’s eyes moved back to gaze out the window, watching the lights pass by.

As the bouncers threw Leo out on the curb, he suddenly felt the repercussions of his actions throbbing in every bone and muscle in his body. He could taste blood in his mouth as he looked over at Dia standing at the edge of the sidewalk, waving down a cab. He could tell how uncomfortable she was- afraid- and convinced himself that it was the right thing to do. He may have scared her, maybe even lost her, but he stood up for her and gave that prick what he deserved. Leo obviously had a hard time controlling anger, and when it came to people disrespecting women that he cared for, there were no questions asked. It’s something he had always battled, something that always scared people away, but it would always be stronger than him. He looked down at his bloody fists, one eye slightly closed as it hung bruised from a blow, and thought: “This is who I am.” He knew it wasn’t the best he could be, but Leo had decided long ago that if this is all that people expected of him then why even bother changing? With years and years of hearing what a low-life he was from his father, what else could he expect?! And again, after years of getting his own beatings at home, it’s the only way he knew to release his anger. This is who he is.

crossing her arms in front of her chest and hugging her jacket closer seemed to be the only thing that brought comfort within the situation. dia knew better than to let it get to her head, but as she watched the stranger from the corner of her eye enjoying the night unapologetic as if he didn’t just try to touch her, made her feel even worse. even with leo standing in front of her and knowing that she is fully capable of protecting herself, the brunette still felt slightly unsafe. she began to doubt it even happened in the first place, thought after thought running around her head, and as she realized that leo had asked her a question, her head automatically shook, snapping herself out of the distracted trance. “just two? i’m going to need five,” she nervously joked, desperately trying to hide the fact that her aura had completely turned around. forcing a smile on her features, “w-we can stay, it’s fine,” dia exhaled, pushing strands of her hair behind her ear, “after all, i promised this place would be fun and i am definitely not ready to lose our non existent bet.” she began t/o loosen up for a couple of seconds until the stranger’s figure began to move from the corner of her eye closer and she could only assume he returned to a position behind her once more to get another drink at the bar. shifting nervously she quickly blurted, “d-do you mind if we um,” eyes darting around their surroundings, “move over there or something? i need more air,” pointing towards the other side of the floor, finding the slightest of an excuse despite the fact that they were on a rooftop bar.

feeling his shoulders relax under her forearms reassured dia that leo’s words were true, pulling away as soon as she heard them. “be careful what you wish for,” she began, downing her own shot. the slight burning of the alcohol tricking down giving her the confidence to divulge, “drunk dia can go one of two ways: option a is exactly just what you’re betting on and option b is sli-” her words were cut off as the sudden pressure of a hand behind her caused dia to spin around and move back so quickly, she almost knocked another person’s drink out of their hand as they moved past her. “excuse me?” was all she could blurt out to the male stranger that stood there, trying not to look suspicious with a grin plastered on his face, as he took a sip of his drink. dia was slightly glad that the music had been loud enough to conceal her yelling, but even though his actions denied it, she was a hundred percent sure that he had just laid an unwelcome hand on her. brows still mirroring her frustration and confusion, she turned back to leo and mumbled a quick apology. “s-sorry,” taking a deep breath before continuing, “what was i saying?” pushing a strand of hair behind her ear and crossing her arms, suddenly feeling uncomfortable being in that space despite being the complete opposite merely seconds ago.

Leo smirked, cocking an eyebrow as she spoke, his mind trying to picture her acting that drunk but for some reason, having a hard time. It wasn’t that he didn’t think she had it in her, he just hadn’t ever seen that side of her yet and didn’t really know what to expect. Leo was torn away from his thought at the sound of Dia raising her voice, body turned towards the man behind her. Leo looked down at Dia’s waist and back up at the man, the smirk on his face igniting a fiery rage in his chest. Leo clenched his jaw, then his fists, trying to breathe deeply just like that overpriced therapist his father forced him to see taught him. Deep breath in, deep breath out... His eyes narrowed on the man until he moved away awkwardly, completely ignoring Dia as she began to speak again. Though he was desperately trying to hold himself together, a part of him waited for something, a queue from the other, a snarky comment or another wrong move, just so that he could pounce. It had been a while since Leo found himself in a brawl and he definitely wasn’t opposed to the idea of breaking this asshole’s face in. The mere thought almost brought a smile to his lips, but Leo composed himself and forced his gaze back to Dia, hoping that her chocolate brown irises would save him from himself. Again, he thought about making a run for the bathroom as the powder in his pocket burnt a hole through his jeans, but there was no way he’d leave Dia alone now. He wondered if she would think he was a coward for not defending her. But the truth was, he knew that had he made a move she would’ve wished he hadn’t. And Leo wasn’t ready to put an end to their... friendship just yet. He wasn’t ready to lose her. “Why do guys always feel like they can just... fuck,” he spat, shaky hand reaching to scratch the back of his neck nervously. “Are you okay? Do you wanna leave? Or maybe just take another shot- or two.”

strolling out of the elevator and onto the floor, dia immediately felt the strangers’ gazes. she knew it was inevitable considering the elevator brought in an unnecessary stream of light but the way the stares lingered long after they had already walked in made her slightly uncomfortable, causing the brunette to tug the fabric of her skirt down, slightly wishing she had been more conservative with her outfit. normally, it wouldn’t even phase her the slightest but something about the situation made dia more aware and somewhat protective of the image she upholds. taking a quick breath in and exhaling through her mouth, she calmed her nerves and was grateful that leo suggested to start drinking, “say less,” she sang, heading straight for the bar and asking for a couple of shots. turning back to him, she quickly noted how distracted he looked, as if something was bothering was him. though dia didn’t feel like it was her place to intrude at all and invading leo’s space both mentally and physically could possibly risk the steps forward she had taken into creating a good relationship with him, she hated the thought of anything bothering him when they were supposed to be celebrating. besides, if there was anything she could do to make it better, she wouldn’t hesitate; so she lazily draped her forearms on his shoulders to make his focus center on her as she asked with an encouraging smile looking up at him doe-eyed, “you okay?” ignoring the shot glasses that were slid in front of them, waiting for a response.

Leo followed her to the bar, turning to lean his back on it as he continued eyeing the people around them. Most had looked away by then, taking the glare on Leo’s face as a warning, but one in particular avoided his stare completely and stayed fixed on Dia. He knew what he was feeling was jealousy, what he didn’t know was why this was happening to him. Dia was not his to be jealous about, and if someone wanted to approach her tonight it wasn’t up to him to get in the way of that. After all, he knew very well what his own intentions were for the night... Or so he thought. The plastic baggy in his pocket screamed at him for relief from his confused thoughts, but he knew it was best to wait for Dia to be a few drinks in, so she wouldn’t notice. Leo snapped his gaze back to Dia as she maneuvered in front of him, arms on his shoulders. He smiled at her, the sparkle in her large brown eyes giving him the closest thing to a high he’d ever gotten without any drugs. “Of course! What’d you order?” He noticed the stranger had looked away and felt his shoulders soften as he turned to face the shot glasses in front of them. “Alright, here’s to finally seeing what Party-Dia is all about,” he smirked, handing her a shot glass then taking one for himself and raising it towards her before downing it. “Can’t wait to find out what kind of drunk you are. I’m placing my bet on dancing-on-the-bar-and-getting-us-kicked-out kind of drunk,” he chuckled, eyebrow raised as he eyed her curiously. 

the reassurance came as a surprise causing dia’s brows to furrow as she felt his arm surround her; but then again, leo has yet to fail to amaze her with all his sides every single time they spend together. it was both exhilarating and relieving to witness it all, feeling as though their relationship has reached another level of comfort. an air of solace blanketed over, the familiarity of the streets providing nothing but a sense of home as the brunette looked up to read the sign for their exact location. dia’s eagerness began to show through as her steps became slight skips, “it’s only a couple more blocks. don’t be a baby, i’m the one walking in sticks” gesturing to her heels, laughing as she teased, her features lighting up inevitably. “i promise, it’ll be fun,” before adding, “and if it’s not, i’ll owe you one,” slightly regretting as she did so, considering how that might be quickly twisted. as they approached the hotel, dia began to realize how the scene might look like and how leo might take it the wrong way. “i know what you’re going to say,” she warned, twisting to face him as she led the way into the lobby, “but no, we’re not here because of that,” quickly getting the words out before leo had the chance to say anything, stepping into the elevator and hitting the button, “the bar just so happens to be upstairs,” 

Leo smiled childishly, watching her hop in her heels with excitement. There was an energy that Dia gave off that was incredibly magnetic, thrilling yet terrifying for Leo. “You should be careful when you make a deal like that. I will definitely hold you to it,” he laughed, though he could tell by her eagerness that she was taking him to a place she knew wouldn’t disappoint. His eyebrows jolted up as he stared at the entrance of the hotel, mouth falling open as to blurt out one of the multiple dirty remarks that popped into his head, but Dia’s words cut him off before he could make a sound. A smirk spread across his lips as she called him out- it was oddly satisfying to be around someone who could read him as well as she did. “Well, that’s disappointing,” he teased, tossing his cigarette on the floor and following her through the door and towards the elevator. “I have to say, I don’t hate this so far. Feels very... New York City,” he said, finally, struggling to find the proper words. Leo motioned for Dia to lead the way as the elevator doors slid open. His ears instantly perked up at the sound of music, voices and cocktail shakers, taking a look around as they walked towards the bar. Leo immediately noticed the hungry gazes of the men in the room as they glanced over at Dia, an unfamiliar feeling burning in the pit of his stomach. Of course, he thought, she’s the hottest girl in this room- I should’ve expected this. But that definitely didn’t mean that he liked it. “Alright, let’s start drinking,” he exhaled sharply, making a mental note to try his absolute hardest to control his anger tonight. Don’t fuck this up.

excitement built up within the femme along with the satisfaction of getting him to agree but were quickly replaced with slight jealousy upon hearing one of his last comments. her expression following not too far behind as her features turned into a small frown regardless of how much she tried to hide it, she muttered under her breath, moving her steps back into pace and crossing her arms, feeling slightly self conscious. forcing the pettiness away deemed difficult but necessary; after all, who was she to feel that way? gluing a smile on her face, she finally responded, “my thesis is presenting to be a challenge,” nodding along the understated truth and adding, “it’s honestly just me at this point, i probably just really don’t deserve this degree,” nonchalantly shrugging, “so yes, i’d very much like to get that drunk. plus, we’re celebrating you today!” forcing the pep back into tone.

“Hey!” Leo protested, furrowing his brows as he nudged her gently with his elbows, “No one deserves it more than you. If you’ve made it this far it’s because you know you can do this. You do deserve it. And I have no doubt that you’ll do great.” Leo reached his arm over her shoulder, squeezing gently in comfort as he stared down at her. “I don’t ever want to hear you say that again, okay?” He spoke firmly yet softly, feeling the need to protect the girl from herself, wishing she knew just how highly he thought of her and just how much he believed in her. “Let’s not celebrate anything, how about that? Let’s just fucking get drunk and have a good time. This place better be fun,” he smirked, taking a long drag of his cigarette, ignoring the fact that he still had his arm around Dia and how right it felt to be holding her. As he placed the cigarette between his lips, freeing his hand, Leo reached into his pocket to feel for the small baggie he had placed there before leaving. It had been a while since he had used drugs of any kind, but finding out about City made it much easier for him to give in to his temptations. He decided he’d hide it from Dia, sneak off to the bathroom during the night and take just a small hit- that would be enough for the night- then return to her like nothing. Partying and drugs came hand in hand to Leo, it’s how he always did it. But he was sure it wasn’t how Dia partied, and he decided it was best not to let her know. “How much further is it, anyway?”

“alright, alright, don’t get too cocky now,” dia warned without agreeing or disagreeing, rolling her eyes at leo’s comment. with a slight shaking of her head, she refused the offer, “i’m trying to cut down and hopefully quit. thanks though,” she explained, fighting all the urge to reach over and take one from the box. suddenly getting the idea, she excitedly gasped before twisting on the ends of her heels, the fringes on her jacket swaying along with the motion, proceeding to exclaim with a wide grin, “i just remembered! my favorite rooftop bar opened back up today.” she debated bringing up the idea for a quick second, realizing that she would only normally go there with her closest friends, but went for it anyway, “can we go there instead?” she pleaded with a pout, stepping in front of the other to cut his steps off, “please, please, please?” the place was just enough to be walkable that she hoped he wouldn’t mind the stroll considering the nice weather.

“Good for you! I’ll encourage you by smoking all the cigarettes in New York so there are none left to tempt you,” he chuckled, placing the carton back in his pocket and thinking of how he would never even attempt to give up smoking. He just knew he couldn’t. Leo laughed, stopping in his tracks as the girl placed herself in front of him. He stared at her adorable pout for a moment, then tilted his head away from her to blow a thick cloud of smoke out into the air. “Jesus, how the fuck does anyone say no to that face?” he laughed, eyebrows raised as he scratched the side of his face. “Of course, we can go wherever you want. As long as there are booze and women I’m satisfied,” he teased. “Nice dodge on the thesis question, by the way. We don’t have to talk about it tonight. Let’s just get you drunk enough to forget what biochemistry is, yeah?”

the femme’s figure jumped at the knock on the door half expecting for her phone to ring instead. quickly snatching her purse that she had thankfully packed earlier on, she took one last quick glance in the mirror and headed out. stepping into the hallway, dia couldn’t help but explode in laughter at leo’s teasing and quickly donned a playful pout. “stop that, you’re making me so self conscious,” she whined, adjusting the black leather skirt that hugged her figure too well, pulling it an imaginary inch down with her free hand. “congratulations again, by the way,” twisting to face him once the elevator doors closed, “i had no doubts you were going to get it, i’m really proud of you,” before strolling out the lift after the quick trip down, with a smirk and adding cheekily, “also just slightly looking forward to stopping by soho to bother you.” looking around the lobby, she was slightly grateful none of her friends were around since being the word of mouth was the last thing she wanted, “where are we headed again? i need like ten gin and tonics right away,”

Leo couldn’t help the smile on his face at the sound of Dia’s words; he would never get used to hearing someone say they were proud of him. “Thanks,” he replied simply, careful not to show too much emotion, “that means a lot.” Leo pressed the button of the elevator, motioning for Dia to step in as the doors opened and taking a second to subtly glance down at her behind, hoping she wouldn’t notice but also not worried about if she did. “Any excuse to watch me cook, huh? I know it turns you on,” he smirked. “This funky place Julian took me to a few weeks back. Can’t remember what it’s called but it’s not too far, we can walk.” Leo wasted no time pulling a cigarette out of his pocket and placing it between his lips the moment the elevator opened up into the lobby, turning to offer one to the girl. “Rough day?” he mumbled, lips curled tightly around the stick as he lit it. “How’s your thesis coming along?”

“the cooking does help with your ‘nice’ image, but i also just really appreciate you,” sincerity evident through her tone that still maintained its lighthearted nature, “i’ve met really awful people in the past and you don’t fall under that category at all.” brown orbs trailing the male’s figure as she felt him move next to her, vaguely wincing at the words he used to describe himself, regretting sharing her first impression that might have prompted the choice. leo’s excitement was incredibly infectious, dia’s own wide grin inevitably mirrored his as she picked up her fork and dug it into the dish. a burst of flavor washed over her senses with the bite that she took, causing her eyes to slightly roll back. “it’s good,” was all she could muster, agreeing with a nod and wasting no time to take a second bite and a third. she knew that just by her reaction, no further words were needed for him to know how much she appreciated it, her expressions speaking for her. talent aside, leo’s passion was obviously discernible within the food he made and dia’s admiration for him only grew. “i’ll be the judge of the pancakes,” she quipped back with a smirk, purposely bumping her knee against his, knowing that was the reaction he was expecting before twisting the direction and playfully adding, “when you bring some over to me next door, that is.” for once, dia was completely unsure of where she stood with her emotions and normally, this would only get her frustrated. but there was something strangely comforting that allowed her to be okay with that, “i hope you know that you won’t be able to get rid of me that quickly anymore,” she teased before gesturing to her plate, “especially not after this.”

brows knitted as she listened to the other speak of his father, dia picked up a sense of bitterness in his tone, immediately feeling protective over leo. this was a common occurrence when it comes to her close friends but it was strangely more prevalent now- as if an opportunity would be presented to shield him from getting hurt again, she would take it in a heartbeat. from the little information he had known of the older man, she already did not like him, but since she knew her opinions were insignificant she decided to keep quiet, not pressing further on. airy laughter escaped the brunette’s lips as she made her way back to her original stool, gingerly bringing the glass of wine closer, slightly getting excited to eat having spent the past few minutes basking in the delicious aroma. she couldn’t help but feel glad that her first impression wasn’t a bad one though she was slightly embarrassed that the vice she had been trying so hard to conceal was part of it. “i am a ‘good’ girl for your information,” playfully defending herself, donning a faux hurt expression, “i hold the door open for the next person, i always tip and i’m never rude to retail workers so.” thinking back to their initial encounter, dia tried to recall her first thoughts of leo. “honestly, i didn’t like you up until two seconds ago,” a challenging smirk painted on her features as she fibbed, “you thought i wanted to sleep with you when i was being completely genuine about helping you move in!” dia couldn’t help but laugh as she reminisced, “but because i’m such a darling, i still tried to be nice to you,” the slight arrogance worming its way back into her diction. “seriously though, i thought,” she wanted to add 'and still do’ but decided to leave that part out, “you were for sure going to be one of those guys that end up sleeping with half the building and fist fighting the other half. like, i was getting ready to get texts from my friends about you,” she admitted, deciding to omit the part about her attraction considering that it will only make her look weak, “so i’m honestly surprised to see this nice side of you.”

Leo threw his head back in laughter as the memory of that day came back to him. “I just didn’t expect you to be so nice and actually offer to help me unpack. I thought it was code for something,” he admitted. Though many people would’ve probably felt embarrassed by that mistake, Leo found it outright hilarious. Besides, he wasn’t one to take rejection badly- maybe because it didn’t happen very often. As she continued describing her first impression of him, Leo kept his back to her and prepared the final touches on their dishes. His eyebrows jolted up as the girl went on to read him perfectly. “Wow. I’m that obvious, huh?” he replied, only half-jokingly. Okay, he hadn’t slept with ALL of the girls in the building yet. And the only fistfight he’d had so far was not with anyone living here either. So she wasn’t totally right about it… right? “Oh come on, admit it. You only think I’m nice because I cooked for you,” he smirked, setting the dish down in front of her and walking around the island to take a seat on the stool next to her. “Linguini al Pescatore,” he announced proudly, eyes sparkling as he stared down at his creation. “Buon appetito!” Leo looked over at her, a wide grin on his face resembling that of a child’s on Christmas. If there was one thing that made him happier than cooking, it was watching people taste his food. The look on their faces made everything worth it, reminded him that despite all of the shit he went through as a kid, one good thing came out of it. “So?” he asked eagerly, having not yet taken a bite from his own dish. “Not what you expected from a fistfighting manwhore, huh?” he joked, though he knew those words fit him disturbingly well. “Oh, and I make the best pancakes in the morning,” he added, raising his eyebrows suggestively, hoping to provoke a reaction.