Note: I wanted to give a little insight into Leo and his family, so this episode is emotional. On another note, thank you for the new subscribers. For every 50, I can do a little AU. Once I reach 50 subscribers, I can make an AU for y'all. Do y'all want a smut-filled one or a romantic one?

When Leo reached the school, he walked to the front door and pushed the button on the speaker near it because he knew they would lock the doors since school was still in session. “How can we help you?” Someone on the other end asked. 

“Hi, I am Leo Knowles, and I am here for Angelina Knowles.” 

It was silent for a moment—they were probably checking to see if he was one of the guardians on Angelina's list. Initially, he wasn’t because his parents wanted him to have zero contact with his little sister. But his parents sometimes forgot to answer calls when the school needed something, so they begrudgingly put him down. 

“Someone will come to unlock the door for you.” 

Leo didn’t have to wait long for someone to open the doors. “Follow me to the principal’s office.” Leo followed the person. When they reached the door to the Principal's office, the person knocked on the door. “Mrs. Rivers, a Mr. Knowles is here.” 

“Come in.” 

The person opened the door, letting Leo through before closing the door behind him. When Leo entered, he saw a little boy with a bruise on his face, sitting on the right side of the room with his parents. The boy was sniffling. His little sister was on the left side of the room, sitting alone with a red face and crossed arms. He walked over to his little sister, “Angel?” Once Angelina heard him, she quickly hugged Leo, not letting him go, and started crying. 

“What happened?” He asked his sister while rubbing her back. Instead of his sister answering, the Principal did, “Angelina here hit her classmate. If any problems are happening, we do not go straight into violence. If you need help, tell a teacher instead of hitting others.” 

“I was talking to Angel.” He pulled his sister off him so that he could squat down and face her, “What happened?” 

With tears running down her face, Angelina pointed at the little boy, “He kept messing with me. He kept messing up my hair and staying near me while insulting me. And when I said to leave me alone, he tripped me and laughed. So, I punched him.” 

“I did not do that! You are lying!” The little boy yelled, causing his mother to hold his hand as support. 

“I am not! You won’t leave me alone. Anyone in class would agree with me!” 

The boy stuck his tongue out at her while Angelina did the same. 

“Stop it, you two! Behave yourselves!” The Principal yelled. 

Everyone quieted down before the boy’s father started talking. “The little girl should get in-school suspension. She hit my son. Do you see the bruise on his face? Even if he did mess with her, he did not hit her nor leave any bruises on her.” 

“He tripped her. And messing with someone who clearly said no is still wrong. The little boy should get in-school suspension, too, if Angel gets in-school suspension.” Leo refuted, covering his little sister’s eyes when he felt her glaring at the father. 

“All little kids play like that, plus it is just a little boy being a little boy. There is no reason to escalate it to violence. Violence is never the answer.” The mother commented. 

Leo scoffed, almost rolling his eyes, “You are forgetting that your son tripped my little sister. What if she fell and hit something? She is lucky that nothing happened when she fell, but luck is not everything. Tripping someone on purpose is still violence. I am not condoning punching someone, but if my little sister is getting punished, so should he because he did start it by tripping her.” 

“You-” The father yelled, pointing at Leo as he stood up. Leo quickly put his sister behind him, protecting her.

“Stop this at once!” the Principal yelled, cooling the heated atmosphere. The father sat back down, glaring at Leo. Leo glared back. 

“Mr. Knowles,” the Principal addressed, “I can understand that he tripped her, but the classrooms have safety measures, ensuring the kids won’t end up hurt when they fall. It is wrong to trip someone deliberately, and for that, I will punish Antonio. However, punching someone is taking things too far. I am sorry, but I will have to give her in-school suspension for four days.” 

The little boy looked smugly at Angelina, causing her to stick out her tongue at him. No one saw the interaction since the adults were facing the Principal. “You cannot be serious. They should get an equal punishment. He will not learn his way by going easy on him.” 

“You act like we, as parents, cannot discipline him.” The mother commented. 

“Well, you clearly aren’t if he messes with people when they don’t want to be bothered and trips them when he doesn’t get his way. I can see a bully in the making, especially when you chalk up his behavior as little kids being little kids.” 

“If you have something to say, say it to my face.” The father angrily said. 

“I am.” Leo is not one to back down. 

“Can you two please act like adults?” The Principal rubbed her temples before speaking to Leo again. “I will not change my words; this is final. She will serve four days of in-school suspension starting tomorrow.” 

Leo clicked his tongue, grabbing his sister's hand as he headed for the door. “Then I will take her out for the rest of the day. There is no need to stay in school at the moment.” 

“Mr. Knowles, you must sign her out at the front desk!” The Principal yelled after him as he closed the door. 

Leo signed her out as someone brought her backpack to the front office, left the school, and walked to his car door. Angelina stayed quiet until Leo unlocked the back door, sat her down while setting her backpack aside, and tightly buckled her up in the back seat. “Are Mom and Dad going to be mad at me? I didn’t mean to punch him, but he always messes with me, and I couldn’t take it anymore.” 

Leo rubbed her head, kissing her forehead with his covered lips (since he is wearing a mask), “No. And if they are, they can deal with me. I always have your back.” 

Angelina smiled brightly, reaching over to hug Leo while kissing his forehead. “I love you the most. When can you come home? Mom and Dad won’t let me talk about you.” 

“I might not be able to, Angel. But don’t worry, I will always come see you.” 

Angelina pouted but nodded her head. Once Leo ensured she was safely buckled, he closed the door and entered the driver’s seat, driving off once he buckled and started the car. “Did you eat yet, Angel?” 

“I did, but I am still hungry.” 

“Okay, we can get food, then go to the park until Mom and Dad can get you.” 

Leo and Angelina did not stay together longer. After eating a small meal, he took her to a park near his parents' home. They played at the park, running around, playing on the swings and monkey bars, and playing a mini game of tag. Since there were barely any people there, Leo didn’t feel too embarrassed going down a short slide with his little sister, which he made seem like a rollercoaster ride. 

It had been almost two hours together when Leo picked up his tired sister, getting ready to move her to a bench to rest, when a car pulled near the park. Seeing the car, Leo sighed, knowing it was his parents. He set Angelina down while grabbing her backpack near the bench before holding her hand. “Come on, Mom and Dad are here.” 

“Can you come home with us?” Angelina asked again, tightly holding her brother’s hand. 

“No, sweetie.” 

His mother jumped out of the car, running towards them as she snatched Angelina’s hand and backpack from him. “Mom, don’t be rough.” Leo reprimanded. 

“Don’t call me mom.” She started dusting off Angelina’s clothes and straightening her hair while Angelina kept trying to stop her. She looked back at Leo, wanting to stay with her brother instead. Leo sadly shook his head. 

“Who gave you the right to take my daughter out of school today!” His father yelled, stopping in front of him. 

“She needed it. Did the Principal tell you what happened?” Leo answered, ignoring his father’s angry tone. 

“I did, and I don’t need to hear you arguing with the Principal either. What happened, happened, and if that is the choice the Principal makes, then that is the answer.” 

“You won’t even fight for her? Wow, I thought you wanted to spoil Angel, since you said she would never be like me. But seeing this, I guess you really cannot change yourself.”  

“Leo, don’t start. If you try this again, we will take you off the guardian list.” 

“No!” Angelina yelled in the background as their mother pulled her away. 

“Then who will see her when you two act like your phones are nothing but props?” 

“We can hire a nanny.” 

“So you can hire a nanny, but won’t try to defend her.” 

“We are her parents!” His father shouted. “Who are you but a stranger?” 

“I am her brother.” 

“You are nothing of the sort. It is enough that we let you on the guardian list, but that is only to see what the school needs, never to take her anywhere and give out choices. Leo, don’t forget that we disowned you. We have given you a privilege, but will take it away if this happens again.” 

Leo felt angry; he felt like crying. “No matter how much you write me off, I am still her blood. She loves me; she wants to see me. Do you two want to ignore that—do you two want to hurt your relationship with her? Wasn’t the point of having another child to have someone you can call your own!” 

“I said what I said.” His father brushed off his words. “My words are final.” He walked away and got back into the car. 

Leo could only watch as they drove away. His little sister put her face to the window, tears rolling down her cheeks as she waved bye to her brother. He numbly waved back. 

When he could no longer see the car, he walked back to his and locked the door, leaning his head back on his seat as he harshly rubbed his face. He snagged his mask in the process, hurting his ears. But the pain kept him from crying himself. 

He felt like someone was pushing him underwater to drown. Every time he saw his parents, the meeting never went well. And when it involved his little sister, it went to hell. 

Leo didn’t know what to do. 

He didn’t know how to feel okay. 

And he didn’t know how things could reach this point.

He pulled out his phone, reaching for Niko’s contact as his finger hovered over the call button. When negative emotions began to swirl around his head, Leo never talked to anyone about them and only bottled them up. 

But, with Niko now in his life, for the first time, he wanted to talk about them. However, the feeling makes him scared and anxious. 

Would this be stupid to do? 

Would Niko get annoyed with him?

And have they reached this far to talk about serious things?

Leo didn’t know. But he wanted to try. For once, he wanted to feel normal. 

He pushed the call button. It only rang once when Niko answered, “Hey, is something wrong? Are you so eager to hear my voice?” Niko couldn’t help but tease as he knew Leo didn’t call around this time. 

“Everything.” Leo bitterly chuckled. “Why do I have this disorder? Why can’t I be normal? Why am I unlucky?” 

“Leo, baby, what happened? What’s wrong? Can you tell me?” After hearing Leo's answer, Niko straightened, no longer in a playful mood. 

“I can.” Leo talked about his family.