Silent Love, Silent Pain [Levi x OC]

2. Tangled paths

They left the tavern's backyard through the hole in the fance. The same hole she squeezed through earlier when she was planning on running away. They went in an awkward silence, that she found too annoying to stand, but what could she say? Thank you for beating them for me and targeting yourself? No, she would rather stay quiet and keep on with this tranquillity.

They were passing by a lot of similar buildings that were all covered in dirt and devastated by doodless enscribed on them or by stolen bricks that were missing from the walls. Furlan, Levi and Sophie mau be different in so many ways, but they had one thing in common. They all hated this place and the fact that they were born in there. They took a turn into one of the tightest alleys which was leading straight to Furlan and Levi's home. The street there was going more uphill as it was placed on some big rocks which were making the buildings in there in danger of collapsing. It wasn't the safest neighbourhood, even for the Underground standard, but they had no other choice. It was either living in there or living on the streets. 

"Did you know these guys?" Furlan asked Sophie as they were walking. She nodded.

"They were working for Reginald, so yeah. I encountered with them many times" she said as she lowered the sound of her voice almost to a whisper. She felt the sudden need to put her head down, but she forced herself to keep it up. She had nothing to be ashamed of, or at least that's what she was trying to convince herself to think. She slightly fixed the placement of her shirt, trying to make it look less messy, like if she was covering herself more. Levi noticed that slight movement and that made him realise that she had probably been in this kind of trouble more than once. He felt sorry for her, but he still thought that bringing her up with them was a bad idea. To confirm his suspicions he decided to ask her a question that would tell them more about her.

"And how do you know Reginald?" Levi asked. It was a good question. Of course, Reginald was well known across the Underground, but hearing his name was more common between merceneries like them or people that were up to some nasty businesses. Knowing his associates was even more suspicious. 

"I was working for him. I assume he won't take me back after today, so yeah. I was working for him until today"

"As a who?"

"Nothing fancy. Bartender, waitress, sometimes I was cleaning or helping with cooking. No one important if that's what you're really asking" it might have sounded a little too cocky of her, but he didn't mind her bold answer. At least she was honest. Honesty will make life with her under the same rooftop a little less annoying. "It was stupid, you know? Fighting because of me" she added after another few minutes.

"Maybe we wanted to fight them for a long time, huh?" Levi opposed, crossing his arms. 

"Didn't look like it. You were about to work with them, didn't you?"

"What we were about to do is not important anymore" Furlan joined the conversation. He had a strong feeling that Levi would say something barbaric soon and that girl was definitely not a type of person who holds herself back from comments. "We helped you, then you helped us and now we're in this together"

Furlan was right. The moment they decided to fight in her defence and the moment she decided to make sure if they were okay their lines crossed and tangled together. There was no way she could go back to Reginald, not after this. Even if she wouldn't return to help her saviours, they still beated Reginald's associates for her, that was making her a problem for the man. She just had to stay with these two now.

They approached the stairs that were leading to the high placed building at the edge of this level of Underground. Levi went first, Furlan behind him. The blonde boy turned around to face Sophie and smiled at her, encouraging her to climb on the stairs and join them. He even gave her a hand to make it easier for her, because those stairs were really large and some steps were missing. If she would took one bad step she could trap her leg in the hole between them or even fall down. She looked at her feet to see what was under the steps. It was nothing, darkness caused by the deep abyss. She took Furlan's hand which caused boy's wide smile. She almost blushed seeing his genuine joy and kindness. It was something unusual to the people from Underground.