Fate

//Fourteen//

Monday, October 17, 2016

"Hey, Jay," Kyle greeted me, taking a seat next to me.

I glanced up at him, smiling slightly, "Hi."

He smiled back awkwardly, "So...um, does Levi at least treat you well?"

I rose an eyebrow at the brunette, "He's great...why?"

"I just want to know that he's being a good boyfriend...how long have you two been, you know, dating?" he asked, pursing his lips.

"Almost two weeks," I replied.

"That long?"

I nodded, "Yep."

"I'm just glad he makes you happy, that's all I can really ask for," he mumbled, patting me on the shoulder.

I sighed, "I know you don't like him, you don't have to pretend you do."

He frowned, crossing his arms and letting out a huff, "What am I supposed to do when you're hanging out with him then?"

"Spend time with your girlfriend?" I suggested.

"I already spend plenty of time with Lexi," he muttered.

"When was the last time you spent time with her outside of school?"

"That's not important."

"If she breaks up with you, don't come crying to me."

***

I didn't see Levi in any of our classes, so I just resorted to texting him during lunch.

From Me: Are you feeling okay?

I didn't expect him to reply, I didn't even get one. Maybe he got sick and resting in bed right now, there wasn't anything to worry about.

"You look worried," Kyle commented, resting his head on my shoulder.

"I'm not, I'm just being silly," I said, putting my phone back into my pocket.

"You should start worrying if he starts leaving your messages on 'read'," my friend told me, taking his head off my shoulder.

"It's nothing to worry about, maybe he's resting, or busy...you never know," I murmured, propping my head up with my elbows.

The brunette shrugged, "I guess, at least you're not going crazy over this."

"I'm just thinking logically."

"If you say so..."

***

I went to go answer the door when someone rang the doorbell, wishing someone else was home so I didn't have to go answer the door and stop reading in the middle of a sentence, though, it was a really long sentence.

Elijah was who-knows-where with Mason, just 'hanging out' of course, but it sounded like a date to me. Emma was still at school for whatever sport she was currently doing. Mom and Dad were at work. So that left me home alone, and the only one who could actually answer the door.

I opened the door, immediately getting attacked in a hug. It took me a moment to realise it was Levi who had been at the door and was currently the person who had ambushed me.

He pecked me on the forehead, "Hey."

"Uh...hi, what're you doing here?" I asked, trying to break free of Levi's iron grip.

"I just wanted to see you, it's been a long day," he said, letting go of me and closing the door behind me.

"Since you obviously aren't sick, what happened?" I questioned, seeing Levi tense up as he started walking to the lounge.

"It doesn't matter," he dismissed, slumping down onto the couch.

I took a seat next to him, taking his hand in mine, "It seems like it does if it was important enough to have you skipping school."

The brunette sighed, "Are you going to make me tell you?"

I shook my head, "Only if you want to."

"I saw my dad today...and he's not the most - um - understanding person," he said, shrugging his shoulders.

I squeezed his hand subconsciously, "Oh."

"Yeah...I don't know why he wanted to see me, but that's what happened today," he told me, leaning into my side.

"Is he the reason--"

"The reason why I pretend to be homophobic? Yes," he cut me off.

"What a jerk," I muttered.

He smiled sadly at me, "He is a jerk -- a homophobic asshole. Today he asked me if I was still gay...what kind of question is that?"

"Why didn't you just not go see him?" I asked, pursing my lips.

"When I was about to leave for school, he showed up...so there wasn't really a way for me to get out of it," he mumbled, wrapping his arms loosely around me.

"I'm sorry your father is such a jerk," I said, hugging the boy back.

"I'm glad my I have my mom though, she's amazing," he murmured.

"I love you."

"I love you too."

***

"Why is there a guy sleeping on your bed?" Elijah asked quietly.

"Levi fell asleep on the couch, so I carried him in here," I replied, shoving my bookmark into the book I had been trying to read all day.

Damned interruptions.

My brother rose his eyebrows at me, "You carried him?"

"Yeah...I'm strong. Books aren't light, you know," I muttered, crossing my arms after I had set my book down.

"Maybe this addiction of your's is unhealthy," Eli murmured, blinking a few times in shock.

"It's not an addiction," I said bitterly. "It's called light reading."

"What you call light reading, I call a year's worth of reading," he retorted, huffing as he left the room.

"It's true, you know," I heard Levi mumble.

I glanced back at him, "When'd you wake up?"

"Before your brother came in here," he answered.

"Whatever."