The moment Leo stepped into Adrian's living room, he knew he was in for trouble. The furniture had been rearranged to make room for an impressive assortment of blankets and pillows sprawled across the floor. A massive flat-screen TV dominated one wall, with shelves of DVDs and a neatly organized collection of snacks nearby.
"I thought this was supposed to be a casual movie night," Leo said, raising an eyebrow.
Adrian grinned as he tossed a bag of popcorn onto the pile of pillows. "It is. But Maddie insists on going all out. She calls it her cinematic experience."
Maddie, Adrian's younger sister, appeared from the kitchen with a bowl of candy in her hands and a mischievous glint in her eye. "Adrian said you were coming over, so I made sure we did it right. You're not allergic to sugar, are you?"
Leo laughed. "Not yet, but I guess we'll find out."
Adrian rolled his eyes but couldn't hide his smile. "Alright, Maddie, go pick something to watch. Just not another one of those cheesy romance flicks."
Maddie stuck out her tongue. "Only because you're terrible at crying during the emotional parts."
Leo smirked. "He cries during romance movies?"
"Shut up, new kid," Adrian said, his ears turning red.
Maddie finally settled on a sci-fi action movie with just enough explosions to keep Adrian happy and enough of a plot to keep Leo interested. They dimmed the lights, and the three of them sank into the blanket fort with bowls of snacks in hand.
The movie started off without a hitch, but it didn't take long for chaos to erupt.
"Pass the popcorn," Leo said, nudging Adrian's arm.
Adrian handed the bowl over, but Maddie intercepted it halfway, grabbing a handful. "Finders keepers," she said with a grin.
"Hey!" Adrian protested, reaching for the bowl. Maddie held it out of his reach, giggling as he lunged for it, accidentally knocking over a bag of chips in the process.
"Careful!" Leo said, trying to shield his drink from the onslaught of falling snacks.
"You're supposed to be on my side!" Adrian accused, pointing a finger at Leo.
"I'm just trying to survive," Leo shot back, laughing.
By the time the credits rolled, the living room was a mess of crumpled napkins and empty candy wrappers. Maddie had fallen asleep halfway through the movie, curled up in a blanket on the couch.
Adrian stood and stretched, yawning. "Well, that was a disaster."
Leo chuckled, helping gather the scattered snack bowls. "A fun disaster."
As they cleaned up, Adrian glanced at him, his expression softening. "Thanks for coming tonight. I know Maddie can be a handful."
Leo shrugged. "She's great. You're lucky to have her."
Adrian paused, his gaze lingering on Leo. "She liked you, you know. That's rare. Maddie doesn't usually warm up to people so fast."
Leo smiled. "Maybe I'm just irresistible."
Adrian rolled his eyes, but his smirk betrayed him. "Sure, new kid. Whatever helps you sleep at night."
Once the living room was back in order, Adrian walked Leo to the door. The night air was cool, the stars faintly visible in the sky above.
Leo hesitated before stepping outside. "Tonight was… nice. Messy, but nice."
Adrian leaned against the doorframe, his hands shoved into his pockets. "Yeah, it was. You should come by again sometime. Maddie will probably demand it, anyway."
"I might take you up on that," Leo said, smiling.
For a moment, they stood there, the silence stretching between them. There was something unspoken in Adrian's eyes, something that made Leo's chest tighten.
"Well," Adrian said finally, breaking the moment. "Goodnight, new kid."
"Goodnight," Leo replied, turning to leave.
As he walked down the driveway, he couldn't stop the small smile that crept onto his face. Despite the chaos, or maybe because of it, tonight had been one of the best nights he'd had in a long time.
And it had everything to do with Adrian Kane.