(POV: Ava)
---
There are certain things in life you expect to happen at your local cafe. Mildly burnt coffee, acoustic covers of pop songs, and the one guy who treats every sip of espresso like he was in a period drama.
What you don't expect is a famous influencer sliding into the booth across from you like she just finished a casual grocery run.
Let me backtrack.
We were supposed to have a chill afternoon. Sophia had brought her book, Ethan was explaining (read: ranting) about how group projects should be banned by law, and I was halfway through a chocolate croissant.
Leo, as usual, was running late. Which in his case could mean anything from helping an old man fix a vending machine to accidentally getting involved in a local chess tournament. I had just said, "Just wait for him to come and drop another bomb out of nowhere.," when the bell over the door jingled.
But it wasn't Leo.
A girl walked in. Black jeans, loose white blouse, oversized sunglasses, and that unmistakable aura of someone who's either a celebrity or about to sue a hotel chain. Nothing screamed "Hey look at me!"—but heads still turned.
She glanced around like she was trying to spot someone. Then she walked up to our table.
"Hey," she said casually. "Are you guys friends with Leo?"
I blinked. "Yeah?"
She smiled, lowered her sunglasses, and offered a hand. "Luna. Luna Veyra."
Ethan almost choked on his cold brew. Sophia whispered, "Oh my God," like she was seeing a unicorn in ripped denim.
Even I took a second to process. I knew that name. Skincare line. Travel vlogs.
"Wait, you know Leo?" I asked, trying to keep my face neutral and not do the whole star-struck thing.
She nodded like it wasn't a big deal. "Yeah, we met in Kyoto a while back. He helped me out during a really messy week."
"Wait Kyoto he didn't mention this did he?" I whispered to Sophia.
"Definitely not." She whispered back.
"Define messy?" I asked turning my attention back to her.
She laughed softly. "Lost luggage, language issues, stalker fan incident. Leo handled most of it before I even figured out how to dial the hotel reception."
Ethan blinked. "That sounds... like a lot."
"Yeah," Luna said, sitting down like she belonged there. "But he has a way of making things feel manageable."
Just then, as if summoned by the universe for dramatic timing, Leo walked in.
Plain grey hoodie. Black joggers. A paper bag that definitely held something questionably edible.
He glanced at us, then at Luna.
"Oh," he said. "You found them. Cool."
Sophia was the first to react. "Leo. What."
He sat down across from Luna and began unwrapping a suspiciously flat sandwich. "What?"
"You know Luna Veyra."
He nodded slowly. "Yeah?"
"From KYOTO?!"
"Oh, right. Yeah, Kyoto. That was a weird week."
Luna snorted. "Understatement of the year."
"You never mentioned this, even while discussing your trip there" I said, staring him down.
Leo shrugged. "It didn't seem al that important."
Ethan threw his hands in the air. "How does something like that not be important enough to mention?!"
Leo paused. "I dunno. Some things just don't fit into casual conversation."
Sophia muttered, "Meeting a famous influencer isn't much important he says..."
Luna, who had been scrolling through her phone, turned it around. "This was taken on the third day we met."
It was a picture of Leo standing in a crowded Kyoto street, holding two bags of groceries and wearing a face mask, while Luna made a peace sign next to him. He looked... exactly the same. Completely unbothered by the chaos around him.
"You two look close," I said.
"He cooked for me," Luna said.
Pause.
Leo mumbled, "You were eating instant noodles every day. Someone had to step in."
"You cooked for a celebrity," Ethan said slowly, as if trying to prove to himself he hadn't fallen into a simulation.
"Not because she was a celebrity. She was just a hungry tourist with bad luck."
There was something about how he said it. No fanfare. No ego. Just... honesty. That stupid, chill honesty Leo carried like it was part of his DNA.
Luna smiled. "He didn't even recognize me at first. Treated me like a regular person. That meant a lot back then."
The rest of the afternoon blurred by. Luna stayed. Ordered a drink. Asked us about school, hobbies, even joined in when Ethan started his tirade about vending machine conspiracy theories.
And Leo? He just existed. Calm. Collected. Like this was all just another Tuesday.
Later, as we left the cafe, I caught Luna telling Leo something softly.
"You're still the most grounded person I know. Don't lose that."
He gave a rare, almost-smile. "You too."
That night, #LeoAndLuna started trending.
Not because we posted anything. Not because Luna tagged him.
Someone had snapped a candid photo through the cafe window. Leo, eating his sad sandwich. Luna, laughing at something he said.
People wanted to know: Who was this guy that Luna Veyra clearly respected?
I already knew the answer. We all did.
He was just Leo.
And that, somehow, was enough to break the internet.
___
End of Chapter 37.