Mismatched (bxb)

NO MATTER WHAT

NO MATTER WHAT he tried, he couldn't get the kiss off his mind. The memory of it was all over the place: at choir, his mind raced fast whenever Levi's voice surpassed everyone else's; in art class, he felt that his eyes were constantly drawn to Levi. One time, he even ended up sketching the basic outlines of Levi's face onto his sketchpad without his knowing. The matter was getting extremely hard to deal with, and Carl knew he had to do something about it. Because at this time, even talking it out with Savvy didn't work anymore. 

'Levente Cooper?' the teacher called the name that Carl had been fantasizing about since that day in the storeroom. Even the sound of it made his heart skip a beat. It wasn't this bad before, because a week or so ago, he had had it all under control. 

'Professor, he's at the infirmary,' said Ryan, to whom Carl directed his gaze almost immediately. Although he was the one person Carl could not trust or get an answer out of, he felt that he had to rely on Ryan now. 

The teacher raised a question. 'What's happened to him?'

Carl eagerly leaned forward in his seat, looking for a chance to dash out of the room and into the corridor as soon as possible. What had happened to Levi? 

'He, uh, had a minor concussion at his locker,' answered Ryan, but Carl could sense something was off about it. 'I heard a girl named Leah was staying with him for a while to, uh... look after him.'

Carl didn't miss how Ryan's gaze fleetingly averted to him, and then suddenly dropped down to the portrait in his hand. Something was definitely wrong with the situation. 

'Professor, may I go see him?' said Carl, instinctively standing up from his chair that he was so used to being glued to.

'Just this once, Carlos,' the teacher said after a while. 'But you'll be punished if you don't completely today's work somehow, you got that?'

'Yes, ma'am,' answered Carl, bobbing his head up and down in gratitude. 

He shot Ryan a glance full of distrust and hatred before dashing out of the room to find Levi in the medical room. He had never been there before, being a good student and all. He was pretty sure Levi was as well-behaved as he was, and probably had no reason to get beat up.

Everyone knew that getting injured in the locker room was always connected to a fist fight. He didn't expect to see the worst when he opened the door to the medical room, but he saw it, anyway.

Levi was lying unconscious on a hospital bed with a bandage wrapped around his forehead. His face looked bruised and paled. The lips that had had Carl on his toes all week looked chapped and drained of life. While Levi looked severely hurt, Carl felt his heart drum against his rib cage in an alarming manner. Within a moment, he felt seriously hurt as well.

Opposite Levi's bed, a girl with beautiful blonde curls sat with her head in her hands. Carl had never seen her cry. And he had known her since before Reception, so that said something.

'Leah?' He asked tentatively. When she didn't look up, he asked more forcefully, 'what happened? What got him wounded so bad?'

He heard his cousin erupt a new wave of sobs as he watched. The sadness could be dealt with later; for now, Carl needed to know what had made his boyfriend so immobile and hurt.

'I want to know what happened, Leah!' he raised his voice, and the sobs stopped before the girl looked up at him in shock.

'I swear I didn't do anything!' she shrieked silently, her gaze never wavering from Carl's chocolate-brown eyes. 'I never told Leon anything, but I guess he figured that this whole thing was a put-on. He... he got frustrated and threw a punch in Levi's face.'

Carl's pace. Quickened and his breath slowed as he recognized an emotion he had never felt before. At least, not to this extent. It was as if he saw red as his veins throbbed with rage. He didn't know where to direct it, but he felt it grow inside him. His whole face felt hot and burning, overcome with anger.

'He never intended to this much damage, I think,' said Leah hastily, swinging her hands in anxiousness. 'You know how he's like. He got overprotective and... punched Levi in the face only once. It landed softly, I'm sure, but the force...'

'The force was great enough to make him go crashing into a locker?' supplied Carl, his heart beating like never before. 'Where were his friends when he needed him?' He raked his hands through his messy dark hair. 'Where was I when he needed me?'

'It's not your fault,' Leah quickly provided. 'He was taken care of pretty quickly. I just... didn't know how to tell you about all this. It's... good that you came by yourself. I... I don't think I could've told you directly. Gosh, I'm so sorry. I was... too scared to stop it.'

'Why is his face bruised, Leah?' Carl demanded again, this time more calmly than before, although it resembled none of his internal feelings. 'You said the punch didn't land, didn't you?'

'Leon is not the only one responsible for this,' said Leah. 'Ryan tried to fight him off, and he got Levi hurt in the process.' She held his hands together. 'We should've told Leon from the beginning.'

'He misunderstood,' agreed Carl, nodding frantically. 'A big part of it is my fault. I agreed to the deal, I lied to my friend, and put my boyfriend in trouble. It's all great.' 

'Like I said, it's not your fault,' said Leah, summing up some of the courage she had left. 'I guess Leon's too scared to show up now. He probably feels sorry and ashamed... How could he face you after what he did? I can't ask you to not hit him back. Hell, I can't even tell you to listen to what he has to say.'

'He should've hit me,' said Carl naturally, his eyes welling up with tears as he was hit hard by the image of Levi lying on the white sheets, looking sore and numb. 'He got the wrong person.'

'Will you look after him?' asked Leah anxiously. 'I... want to go and talk to my brother. What he did was wrong... and Levi could even press charges on him, if he really wanted. But he's not that hurt, and the nurse said he'd wake up soon. Can you take him home afterwards?'

'You know I will,' said Carl as he stood towering over Levi's resting figure. 'You should go.'

A fraction of his anger was directed at Leah for not putting an end to the fight when she had the chance to, but he knew very well how useless she was when it came to fights. She was not Savannah; not like Savvy who wouldn't hesitate to put her life at risk to save somebody in need.

The nurse entered the room carrying a few antiseptics and medication. Before the door closed behind her, Leah slipped outside silently. Carl looked to the school nurse, waiting for her to provide him with the necessary medicine that Levi needed. 

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I honestly didn't want Levi to get hurt, but we've got to see what a caring and sweet little boy Carl is! And I really, really want them to spend a night together. 

Keep your fingers crossed, because I am too. 

😊😊😊😊😊😊

Fun question: Will the boys make peace with one another ever again? Do we even care about that? 

Of course, we do. 

Also, sorry for the late update! 

04-04-2024