Together Despite the Distance: Stories of Lev and his Friends

Alcohol Discussion

Started Writing: 02/14/23
Ended Writing: 02/16/23

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Date of Story: November 3rd
Characters Mentioned: Entire friend group
Summary: Opinions on Alcohol. Do you like it, or hate it?

Headcanon mentioned in this chapter: Lev loves to draw and is also saving up for a Drawing Tablet. Right now he uses Sketchbooks.

MASSIVE TW: There will be mentions of Alcoholism, A mentioned Suicide attempt, and Childhood Trauma. Continue at your own risk. Or skip this chapter.

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Lev sketched in his book, capturing the beauty of nature with pencil strokes that formed intricate shapes of clouds, trees, shadows, and animals. A mix of gentle lofi and acoustic music played in the background as he worked. His laptop sat atop his old math textbook from middle school, while his phone charged nearby

A loud 'ding' interrupted the soft music from Lev's phone. He paused, momentarily confused, before setting his pencil down and picking up his phone. It was a text message from Meliana, urging him to join Discord: 'HOP ONTO DISCORD PLZZZ!!!'

After a moment's hesitation, Lev opened his laptop and logged into Discord. He joined a group call with his friends that were already in progress.

"Good afternoon, Lev. How has your weekend been?" greeted Argenis, Meliana's twin brother. Though typically chaotic, he spoke formally with many people. Lev could see that Argenis was wearing a beige sweater vest over a white turtleneck

"It's been nice! Finished my Homework!" Lev answered before deciding to ask his question. "Why am I here exactly?"

"It's been nice so far! I finished my homework an hour ago," replied Lev before getting to his question. "So, why exactly am I here?"

"Meliana, over to you?" Mi-Kyong handed the stage to Meliana. They were seen wearing a dark blue t-shirt, which appeared to be two sizes too big for them.

Great! I gathered everyone here for a discussion," Meliana began. On-screen, she was wearing a white off-shoulder shirt or dress with a black waist corset that was barely visible, along with a black choker.

"On what topic? Sex?" Kiyo interjected playfully. She was wearing a maroon red spaghetti strap shirt with a white sweater unzipped over it.

"What, school? Desserts? Marijuana?" Nout chimed in. He was wearing his favorite yellow zip-up sweater, unzipped to reveal a blue-to-black ombre shirt.

"Perhaps something about culture?" suggested Heng. His usual oval-shaped glasses were missing, which threw Lev off. He was wearing a loose black button-up shirt.

"No, no, and no," Meliana replied. "I want to know how you all feel about alcohol," she informed the group. Lev felt his throat tighten and began to shake.

"Whoa, whoa!" Meliana noticed Lev's sudden nervousness. The others in the group began to take notice and ask what was wrong. Lev realized Fred wasn't on his screen, which made him even more nervous.

"Hey guys, I'm back... woah!" Fred noticed the commotion, but nobody seemed to see his return. He set down a plate of Halve Hahn and began waving at the screen, making exaggerated movements to get everyone's attention and make them stop.

"Lev?" Fred's gentle, calm, yet stern voice eventually caused everyone to quiet down. "It's okay, we're here to support you," Fred reassured him. "Tell us, what's wrong?" he asked in a more understanding tone.

 "Alcohol doesn't bring back happy memories," Lev answered bluntly, still visibly shaking. 

"Hey, hey, hey!" Meliana spoke up.