Vaughn

Zoe soon excused herself as she was technically intruding on the clientele's time slot. Her cheery goodbye was the last thing we heard before the door shut and we were alone once more. I was pleased to see that Leigh was not in such a sour mood anymore, even if he wasn't exactly jolly either. He reached over to the coffee table with semi-curious eyes, taking a peek under the cover of a colored glass jar. He looked surprised to see the strawberry candy I kept for clients, though deemed it acceptable for him to try one. Seeing him pop one into his mouth and brighten a bit when he identified the flavor made me recall, this kid could actually be cute at times. On that note, I decided to continue where we left off.

"So, besides your... unfortunate clash with your Spanish teacher, how did the rest of your day go?"

He waited until he finished licking the pink filling off his finger before eyeing me, offering a monotonous response.

"It was boring and I skipped most it to sleep."

I made a face at how blunt he was with his truancy. I had to think of a way to get him to go to his classes, even if it meant I had to play a bit dirty. Although for now, I was working on easing my way into his trust circle.

"Why were you so tired today in the first place? You should try going to sleep at a more reasonable time." I suggested, not surprised when he rolled his eyes at me.

"I stayed up a lot of the night talking to Kat." I noticed immediately the shift in his demeanor once he mentioned that name. He looked almost pained, and it made me want to comfort him all the more.

"Kat?" I asked with raised eyebrows, undoubtedly intrigued about this person of interest in his life. Leigh pressed his cheek in his hand and covered the lower half of his face, still not looking my way. He then murmured into his palm and his muffled reply caught me off guard.

"Katalina. She's my best friend."

Best friend? I was under the impression that Leigh wasn't allowing himself to get close to anyone. However, this was big news! Finding out a little more information made me ecstatic, causing me to swiftly put my pen to paper as I wrote the name down. As I finished I could see from the corner of my eye that Leigh was fiddling with something. I peered above my clipboard just in time to see the boy trying to position his phone in his hands, its direction aimed at me.

"What are you doing?" I asked suspiciously as I watched him tense up and look my way.

"...Nothing?"

Click

The shutter sound of the camera that followed soon betrayed his bold faced lie. His finger lifted off his phone screen and he shot me a nervous smile. Upon seeing this, I inhaled sharply and rose from my seat in an instant.

"Um...?" Leigh blurted out in a panic, looking quite startled by my sudden action. I narrowed my eyes at him, his expression changing to one of horror as I walked towards him in quick strides.

This was it, I decided. Today marked the day that changes would be made. 

I was next to him in seconds, hovering just a bit over his body as he lay flat on the couch with his phone cradled to his chest. He gazed up at me like a frightened stray cat, his green eyes wide as if he was in peril.

So now I have your attention, huh?

Offering my sweetest smile, I leaned in closer and held out my palm to him. Nervous and confused, Leigh's eyes flickered between my face and my extended hand.

"W-What?" He stuttered defensively, the shyness in his tone overpowering his efforts to sound rebellious. Even though he was a client, I was still dealing with an unruly teenager. I had to set some ground rules if I wanted to get anywhere with him.

"Let me have your phone, you're always getting distracted by it during our sessions. I'll return it afterwards." I stated somewhat authoritatively. I watched his high-strung expression disarm quicker than I had ever seen, and I could see clearly when the sass crept back into his demeanor.

"What are you, my dad?"

"If you comply, I have a surprise for you." I added smoothly, waiting for him to take the bait. As soon as I said it, his emerald like eyes gleamed with interest, and I could tell I had him right where I wanted him.