Ten & Levan

38. Thirty Eight

LEVAN

My hand hurts from how fast I've been writing for the past twenty minutes. It hurts so bad that I almost want to stop. But I don't. Through the stinging ache coursing through my wrist and thumb, I write about the girl who floats like a feather, the girl who colors the weather, the girl who has uncountable stories to tell, the girl who doesn't flinch when things get tough, the girl who thinks lying on the floor and staring at the ceiling makes the pain go away, the girl who has so many smiles in her jar she can't even close it, so she smiles all day.

I frown to myself as I come to a halt. My thoughts float around me in slow motion, threatening to become frozen. All of them descend to the ground like snowflakes, or better yet, like pieces of a puzzle. But right when they're all about to fit in together perfectly, the frenzy returns, and instantly, I find myself listing possible reasons why Ten smiles as much as she does.

1. She's a psycho killer

That is possible if you really think about it, and I've been thinking about it for a while now. I've read somewhere that psycho killers are mostly charming. They lure you in, only to kill you when the story needs to come to an end.

2. She's dumb

But is she? I wonder, and decide to make corrections.

2. She's dumb She's just laid back

3. She has a disorder...

4. ...I have a disorder

I'm still listing reason when I hear the crunch of gravel behind me. I turn back expecting to see Ten, But find out that Todd Bedford has decided to show up unannounced, along with Jayce, Garrett and another guy who looks new to have entered their posse.

I decide to gather up all the sheets I have scattered around me and shove them in my bag. By the looks on each of their faces, they want something out of me. But since I'm in no mood what so ever to attend to their wishes, I swing my bag over my shoulder and decide to wait for Ten in my truck.

Brazenly, Todd blocks my path, grabbing me by the shoulder.

"What do you think you're doing, Loser Levan?" he asks me, his voice dripping acid.

"I'm...leaving?" I tell him. He snickers, glancing at his friends. It's then that I wonder what he wants from me, because last time I checked, I've never picked anything with him. Sure, Ten has, a lot of times, handed their shit back to them, but never me. If anything, I'm looking forward to know why he wants to pick a fight with me right now. "What do you want, Todd?" I ask, straight forwardly. All humor fades from his face and his grip tightens on my shoulder.

"Listen up, Loser Levan, stay away from Ten, or this won't end well. You get that straight to your thick skull," he says, poking his finger at my temple rather violently, "okay?"

I shove his hand away from my shoulder just as violently and take a step toward him. I'm amazed at how I'm handling it. I don't feel the need to crawl under a rock and not come out until they've left, not anymore. I wouldn't stay shut anymore, now that I know. So I look him eye to eye.

"Todd, it's entirely Ten's choice to be friends with me, or to not be friends with me. If you have a problem with that, you can talk to her because I'm not going to 'back off'," I tell him, "And as far as I know, you don't really know how things end, or well do you?" I ask him, raising a brow. He's seething, I can tell by the way he's biting the inside of his cheeks.

He looks away, acting like he's backing out but I know he's acting, because I watch his hand clench into a fist and draw back before it lands across my face.