We Could Have Happened.

Chapter 23 : "always there"

And when life gets way too hard,

I'll meet you in the stars,

you know I will.

I'll keep you near, as I wipe your tears.

- As I Am : Justin Bieber ft. Khalid

{Levi pov}

"Then I think you're mistaken, Ms.Gabriella. I'm her boyfriend." I proudly stated. Seeing how possessive Echo was definitely different from what I felt when Sierra did it. I liked her possessiveness, and damn when she said she was my girlfriend, I wanted to shout it from the rooftops.

After Ms.Gabriella left agitated, I was still holding her waist, and she slowly seemed to realise this, when she carefully turned to look at me.

"Erm...I.." She stuttered, trying to remove my hand from her waist.

"My girlfriend, huh?" I smirked, tightened my arm around her, causing her to gasp.

"Levi...I..." she was a blushing mess, and I loved how I was the cause of it.

"Come on, girlfriend. Let's go meet Lucas." I told her smiling teasingly, while taking her hand in mine.

When I saw how Nick purposely tried to make me jealous by touching her, I couldn't take it. I wanted to punch that smirk off his face, which Echo did not see. She was trying to calm me down, and it worked, when she touched my arms and grabbed my face to look at hers, it felt like my entire world stopped, and all I could see is her.

She was meeting him tomorrow, and I'm not sure I was okay with that, but I trust Mr.Andre. She felt safe with him. She was like his daughter, I remember him telling me that she had the smile of an angel, a kind heart and a beautiful face. I smiled agreeing. Mr.Andre and I became closer, through the weeks, when I'd go there for coffee. She talked about me to him too, and I couldn't hide my happiness when he mentioned that.

"Echo?"

"Lucas! Bonjour!" Echo chirped happily.

"Bonjour, Echo! It's been a while, how are you?" Lucas said to her, nodding to me, acknowledging me.

"I'm good, really good. I can't wait for Layla to arrive." She said.

"Oui, she seems more excited to see you and Alison though," He laughed.

"Of course, but she misses you too, she talks about you way too much." She said joining in the laughter.

"All good things, I hope."

"Ah, that's not for me to say." She laughed again, which reminded me of this unspoken loyalty they had. I rolled my eyes thinking about getting information about Echo from Layla was practically impossible.

After the mini-reunion, I brought her home, walking her to the doorstep.

"Hey, girlfriend." I softly said, bringing my hand to caress her cheek.

She rolled her eyes playfully, the smile on her lips evident, "What happened to princess?"

"Do you want me to call you princess? I can call you whatever you want me to." I kept caressing her soft skin.

"Levi...I-I have to tell you something." Her eyes were fluttering, leaning towards my touch.

"Mmm..." I hummed.

"I-I have cancer." She said.

"I know." I hummed, unfazed by her words. She opened her eyes wide.

"You know?"

"I do." I sighed, dropping my hand.

"How?"

"Patrice." I said. God, Patrice was going to have my head, but I wanted her to know that this doesn't change anything.

"Oh." She said, thinking deeply.

"How long have you known?"

"Since the day I saw you at the hospital." Her eyes were unwavering, I could see tears forming in them.

"Look at me, princess." I gently said.

She looked up to see my face and said, "I-I'm sorry I hid it from you, I thought you'd leave, that's why I said I didn't want to be in a relationship."

I wiped a fallen tear from her eye, before leaning in to kiss both her closed eyes.

I leaned back a little, holding her face with both my hands, "You're the strongest woman, I've ever known. I told you I loved you before I knew, and I'm telling you again, I love you, Echo, so fucking much. I would never leave you, ever."

She hugged me and I hugged her back, stroking her hair gently.

"We don't have to rush this, I know time is limited but I'm going to be here for a very long time, so girlfriend, let's skip all the asking you outs and all those stuff, but let's jump straight into the holding and kissing." I teased her trying to ease the tension, causing her to body to erupt with laughter, all while I was holding her in my arms.

"Will you give me time to think about it?" She asked, leaning back from the hug.

"All the time, you need. I'll be here waiting for you, always." I smiled at her.

"Thanks Levi," she said mirroring my smile. She was so beautiful.

I asked her to go in, contented with how the day turned out. I wish she knew how strong she was, and how she should stop doubting herself.

All I could hope for now was that she'd trust me, and allow me to love her the way she deserves to be loved.

{Echo pov}

He knew. Oh my god, he knew. But he stayed. He stayed. I unconsciously touched my bracelet, thinking that maybe it's time to stop doubting. He believed in me, and I knew I loved him too. I think this was it, if he still wants me even if he knew, I think it's time I stop hiding.

I walked over to Mr.Andre's cafe, ordered my usual, caught up with Mr.Andre, and then I saw Nick coming towards me.

"Hello, good morning!" I said.

"Hi." He quietly said.

"Nick..."

"Echo, I'm sorry about yesterday. It was a dick move, and I did it out of jealousy, and it was wrong of me, I sincerely apologise."

I gave him a sympathetic smile, "I have cancer, stage 2 breast cancer."

"What?" He exclaimed.

"I forgive you, Nick. I know why you did what you did. I just hope you'd find someone who loves you back, someone you deserve, not just someone else, but someone who would actually love you the way you do." I said, honestly.

"I'm okay, but I might have to quit my job soon, the doctor said it's getting worse, and I might need more treatment, so time is an issue." I told him.

"Echo, I-I.. I'm so sorry."

"It's okay. It's not your fault." I smiled at him.

"If there is anything I can do to help you, please just let me know, okay?" He said.

I nodded, thanking him. His last words before he left the cafe, was what made me smile the brightest.

"He loves you, I could see the pain in his eyes when he was walking towards us yesterday, like he never wanted to lose you. I thought it didn't make sense, but I guess I was always a good judge of character, and I was right. You deserve him, he isn't the best choice, he's the only choice." Nick said, surprising me.

"I'll see you around, take care." He said, waving me goodbye.

I walked to the balcony of my apartment, looking at the stars. Paris was beautiful.

Looking at the stars, assured me that even if I do leave one day, I'll still meet him in the stars.