Move My Heart (Lev Haiba x Reader)

Chapter 31: The Sleepover

You ended up walking home, forcing yourself to calm down before entering Alisa's apartment. Luckily, the walk was a decent one, and by the time you arrived, your tears had dried and your crying was reduced to sniffles. Entering the elevator, you took out your phone, checking to see how you looked. You ignored the five missed calls and dozens of messages you had from Alisa.
"Crap," you muttered, looking at your puffy eyes and streaked mascara. You really didn't want her to see you like this. You wiped your eyes with your sleeve, attempting to fix your makeup. You walked towards the door to the penthouse, and as you opened the door, you looked around to see if anyone was home yet. You heard rushed footsteps from down the hall, and you turned to see Alisa running towards you, opening her arms. You sighed, reluctantly accepting her hug.
"I'm so sorry," she said, tightly holding on to you. You sniffled, leaning your head against her chest.
"I thought I could do it, Alisa, but I can't," you mumbled, and she exhaled.
"I wish I could tell you what's going on in my brother's head, but honestly I don't even know," she said uneasily. You pulled away from the hug, rubbing your eyes again.
"Please don't doubt that he loves you," she said hurriedly, and you gave her a defeated look.
"He called me," you said, and she paused. "But I think it made things worse."
"How?" she asked gently.
"We... were arguing, and I called him a coward. He was crying, too," you answered. Alisa stayed silent.
"I tried to get him to talk, I wanted to talk, but he just...," you trailed off.
"Lev... has never been one to like to talk about his feelings," Alisa said.
"I know."
Alisa walked over to the living room, and you followed her. She stood by the large window, looking out at the busy streets of Tokyo.
"After you left... Rin and Lev got into this argument at the bakery," she said, crossing her arms.
"Rin claimed you had assaulted her, saying you pushed her in the bathroom. Obviously Lev knew... he knew you well enough to know better." You scoffed, crossing your arms as well.
"If anything, she verbally assaulted me," you said flatly.
"Well whatever happened between you two, she was not happy. Lev wanted to go after you, but Rin was being a dramatic b*tch." Alisa paused, glancing at you. "It's like he refuses to see how manipulative she is."
"Does he love her?" you asked quietly, and Alisa frowned.
"Trust me, whatever they have is not love. At least not for him, anyways." She glanced back down at the busy streets, her eyes trailing the cars.
"I think... he is using Rin to distract him. He needs a distraction, or else he'll end up driving himself crazy," she said somberly. "You should have seen him after the two of you broke up, y/n. Trust me, as someone who had to be there for the both of you, you weren't the only one having a hard time."
"That's what he said, too," you replied.
"Y/n, you know I love you, and I love my brother too, but the two of you, you need to figure something out," she said seriously. "I know he's an idiot, but talk to him, please. I don't want to see you hurt, and I definitely don't want him to keep convincing himself that being with Rin is what's best for him."
"I know," you answered, walking over to lean your head on Alisa's shoulder. "but how am I supposed to do that without hurting myself even more?"
"I don't know," she said. "I really don't know."

Luckily, there wasn't much time to worry about Lev, because coming up next was the dress fitting for both Alisa and the bridesmaids. Before that could happen, Alisa had insisted on inviting the other bridesmaids over for a sleepover, so that you could all get to know each other. You knew some of Alisa's bridesmaids were models, and you were slightly nervous to meet them.
"You're going to love them," Alisa assured you the evening before the sleepover. Haru had been banished to stay with his brother, and Alisa was already placing the wine glasses on the kitchen counter when the doorbell rang.
"I'll get it," you said, heading over. You opened the door, greeting two radiant young women.
"Oh my gosh, we finally get to meet you!" one of them exclaimed, reaching over to envelope you in a hug.
"Hi-" you started, but could barely get another word out with how tightly she hugged you.
"I can't believe you're Alisa's maid of honor, yet we've never met you," the shorter woman said, smiling at you.
"Girls, come in!" Alisa called from the kitchen, and you ushered them inside.
"Asami, Hina, it's great you guys could come!" Alisa said excitedly, rushing over to hug them.
"I just can't believe our girl is getting married," Asami, the taller woman, said happily.
"That makes two of us," you added.
The doorbell rang again, and Alisa put down the wine bottle she had grabbed.
"That must be Sacha. I'll get it," she said, leaving the room.
"So, you two model with Alisa, right?" you asked, and they nodded. "The industry can be really toxic, but luckily the three of us have been friends for a while," Asami replied.
"You've known Alisa since highschool, right?" Hina asked, sounding impressed.
"Yeah, it honestly makes me feel old thinking about it," you said, and they laughed.
"Hey, as the youngest of the group, you don't have a right to say that," Alisa said, entering the kitchen. Behind her trailed a beautiful blonde girl, with green eyes just like Alisa.
"Y/n, this is my cousin, Sacha."
"Nice to meet you," she said in a thick Russian accent, and you greeted her. She seemed a little shy, and she didn't seem to be particularly familiar with Asami and Hina either.
The five of you sat on Alisa's couches, drinking wine and gossiping. Well, the gossiping was more on Alisa, Asami, and Hina's end, and you and Sacha stayed quiet, making a comment here and there.
"Enough gossip," Asami said, after telling the group about how a model she knew was having an affair with a married fashion designer, which was most likely information you weren't meant to know. "I want to know more about y/n."
"There's nothing really to tell," you said, fumbling with your wine glass.
"Oh, don't be like that," Hina said, rolling her eyes. "There's always a story to tell."
"Well, I'm living in the US right now, and I haven't been back to Tokyo for a while," you said, smiling. "I missed it."
"Obviously," Hina said, laughing. "Tokyo is an amazing city."
"You used to date Lev, right?" Asami asked bluntly, and Alisa glared at her.
"Asami, I told you not to bring that up!"
"Sorry, I was just curious," she said, looking at you.
"Um, yeah, we did," you answered awkwardly.
"Lev is a total catch," Hina commented, and Asami nodded in agreement. "So what happened between you two?"
Alisa grabbed a couch pillow, chucking it at them.
"Shut up, you two," she said, and they laughed.
"Well, let me tell you, y/n, his current girlfriend is a witch," Asami said, rolling her eyes.
"That, I can agree with," Sacha finally said, frowning. "She's not good for him."
"Then why is he with her?" you asked, and everybody grew silent.
"Because he doesn't know how to say no," Asami finally said. "He thinks he's doing the right thing."
"He talked about you a lot," Sacha said, looking at you. "You were good for him."
"That's what I've been saying," Alisa piped up. You sighed, toying with the rim of your glass.
"Love sucks," you said quietly, and the girls laughed.

Later that night, you were all huddled on one couch, watching a sappy romance movie and eating pizza, when you felt Sacha lean in to you.
"I was being serious,'' she whispered, startling you.
"Huh?" you said, well aware of her practically breathing into your ear.
"About Lev," she whispered. "Go back to him."
"It's not that easy," you whispered back.
"If it's what you want, it'll be easy," she said, leaning back. You pondered her words. She was a little creepy, and seemed to not understand personal space, but her point was valid. It was what you wanted, obviously, but an obstacle named Rin stood in your way.

The five of you were sleeping on the large couches in the living room, and you laid out your blanket next to Alisa. The room was dark, and you scooted over to speak to her, hoping no one else could hear.
"I'm going to talk to him," you whispered.
"Finally."
"Think I'm crazy?" you asked.
"Love makes us all crazy," she said sleepily, and you smiled, closing your eyes.