Baby Blue Eyes

Chapter Thirteen

The next morning, I wake up with a start. Rubbing my eyes blearily, I glance at the clock. 6:20. I have ten minutes before my alarm goes off, so I settle into the covers, snuggling down.

I had the weirdest dream. I dreamt Levi and I were at the house party together, waiting for the others, while everyone around us danced to no music. So Levi and I danced, and ended up… kissing? Oh bloody hell, did I really dream that?! Please say I didn’t!

No, I did. I remember it. Clutching at his hair, I was entwined in his arms, our lips merging together as we kissed in the middle of the dance floor. Where on earth did that come from?

Shaking my head to free it from the memory of dream kissing Levi, I get out of bed, sifting through my wardrobe to find something to wear. Pulling out a skirt and a t-shirt, I slip them both on, finding a cargidan from somewhere to keep my arms warm.

Surveying my appearance with dissatisfaction (my legs will never look as long as Imogen bloody Cooper’s, but sometimes I wish there was some sort of trick I could employ to make them look longer; perhaps using mirrors or something?) I use my hair brush to tie my long hair back. My hair has its good days, and, sadly, today isn’t one of them. The faint waves of my hair seem to have gotten straighter overnight, so they’re more like random kinks. I speedily put on some mascara, somehow managing not to splat my face with black drops, and pick up my school bag, quickly heading downstairs.

Monday mornings. Oh how I love them.

About half an hour later, I’m sat on the bus with Willow, both of us sleepily chatting.

‘Your gig really was brilliant, Zo,’ Willow tells me, stifling a yawn. ‘I’d forgotten how beautiful your voice was.’

I smile. ‘Aww, thanks. I’m so glad you liked it.’

‘I really did,’ Willow replies. ‘I heard so many people around us saying how incredible it was too, we were all blown away.’

I’ve always found it amazing to think that other people enjoy our music as much as we enjoy making it. It’s kind of mind blowing.

‘Are you still planning on coming to the house party with me?’ I ask her.

‘Yes, I think so,’ she replies. ‘That’s alright with you, isn’t it?’

‘Of course!’ I answer. ‘It’s more than alright; I wouldn’t want to go without you!’

‘Oh, I see how it is,’ a new voice says, from behind us. Turning a little, I see Levi’s moved down the bus to sit behind us. ‘You don’t feel safe with us, eh, Zoey?’

I poke my tongue out at him. ‘Don’t be silly. I could just do with some female company!’

Levi raises an eyebrow.

‘I could!’ I protest. ‘Imagine if Matt, Eddie and Jamie were girls; you’d want some male company, wouldn’t you?’

‘I don’t have to try too hard to imagine that,’ Levi says, with a laugh. ‘But nah, Zoey, I’d have you wouldn’t I? I wouldn’t miss guy behaviour.’

I tilt my head, trying to work out what he means. ‘I’m not sure whether that’s meant to be a compliment or not,’ I tell him. ‘But er, I’ll take it as one.’

‘It was meant to be one,’ he mutters, so quietly that I wonder if I misheard him.

The bus shudders to a halt, and we all get out. We continue talking to Levi as we make our way up to school; well, I say we. In reality, Willow doesn’t say a word, walking along next to me with her head slightly bowed.

Kieran’s car is parked there, as usual, with Tasha inside, their lips glued together as they say a lengthy farewell.

‘Oh yuck,’ Levi says, as he spots them. ‘Does he really feel the need to do that in front of everyone?’

I laugh. ‘I don’t think either of them care about other people. They just like saying a rather passionate goodbye every morning.’

Levi eyes the interior of the car with disgust. ‘I was sat in there the other day! Who knows what they’d gotten up to on it?!’

I pull a face. ‘I wouldn’t imagine it, if I were you.’

The emotions flickering over Levi’s face are rather amusing. Clearly he didn’t realise just how cheeky the pair of them were. ‘You mean- do they actually… they actually do the deed?’

I give him a funny look. Surely it’s obvious? ‘Yes. For months and months and months.’

‘Really? In his flat?’

I nod. ‘Before that, it was in your house, Levi! Did you never notice?’

‘Oh that’s disgusting!’ Levi elbows me. ‘I didn’t want to know that!’

I elbow him back. ‘I’m sure you and Imogen get up to far worse,’ I say, the words slipping out before I can stop them. With a gasp, my face flushes red, and I bite my lip. Why did I do that?! WHY?!

Willow inhales sharply; Levi’s expression freezes. ‘Zo-’ he begins, but I interrupt him.

‘Er, forget I said that,’ I say.

‘Zoey, Imi and I, er, we’re not like that.’

‘Of course, I just-’

‘Okay?’

‘Oh yes, fine, fine.’

Having thoroughly embarrassed myself, I realise with relief that Kieran has finally detached his lips from Tasha’s, and that she’s now free to leave.

‘See you tonight, Levi,’ I call, as we head off.

‘Yeah,’ he says, absently, turning and walking away.

Oh crap. Me and my mouth.

*

When I get to the book shop that afternoon, after a long, tiring day at school, Levi’s waiting outside, leaning against a wall, his eyes screwed up in the sunlight. He squints at me as I approach, and then relaxes, stepping back so I can be the first to open the door.

‘You could have gone in,’ I tell him.

He shrugs. ‘It’s a nice day.’

I bite my lip, wondering whether to apologise. ‘Er, Levi?’

‘Yeah?’  he turns to look at me.

‘I, I uh-’

Levi sighs. ‘Zoey, if you apologise one more time, I may do something irrational.’ His eyes meet mine. ‘I’m not cross with you, okay?’

I open my mouth, going to say something, but he gives me a look which quells my protests, making me shut my mouth again like a goldfish.

‘I know you say things sometimes and then get all guilty about it; I’m not pissed off with you at all, god knows I do it too sometimes!’ he adds, and then his expression softens. Reaching over, he ruffles my hair. ‘Okay?’

I laugh. ‘Yes.’

‘No more apologising?’

‘None at all.’

‘That’s my girl!’ he praises me, with a laugh, following me through the door. But I’m not his girl, not anymore. He’s got Imogen now.

Quickly going to change into our uniforms, Levi and I soon begin the jobs we’re now rather used to doing. Levi’s adapted well to working here, seeming to love the books just as much as I love them, handling them just as reverently as I do.

Watching him subtly reading the blurb of a book as we‘re stacking them on the shelf, I raise an eyebrow at him. ‘D’you still read as much as you used to?’

He starts. ‘Oh! Uh, well, sometimes.’

I smile, unable to help myself. ‘How often is sometimes?’

‘Well-’ he pauses, looking at me, and then smiles back at me. ‘Quite often.’

I remember he used to have a very well stocked book shelf whenever I went to his house. He used to read a lot; we used to rave about our favourite books together sometimes. I doubt he does that with Imogen. Why do I keep thinking about Imogen bloody Cooper? It’s not as if I need to compare her relationship with Levi to mine; but I can’t seem to help myself.

He slots the book into place. ‘That’s it now, isn’t it?’ he asks, rapidly changing the subject, something I don’t fail to spot.

I nod. ‘Yes. We got through it all very fast today.’

As we wander downstairs, Levi brings up the rehearsal tomorrow, and as we’re chatting about that, I remember something.

‘Matt asked us to write some songs, didn’t he?’

Levi laughs. ‘You’ve got to love him, haven’t you?’ he chuckles. ‘ ‘Just write some songs’; as if it’s just something you can do upon demand.’

‘I know, bless him,’ I reply, unable to resist Levi’s infectious chuckling. ‘Do you think we’ll be able to?’

‘Don’t see why not,’ he answers. ‘We always managed it before.’

‘Well, as long as he’s not expecting it ready for Saturday, we should be alright to write some in the future, shouldn’t we?’ I ask him.

He nods. ‘I’ve written a few since,’ he tells me, looking a little bashful all of a sudden.

‘Me too,’ I say. I don’t want to tell him that the majority are about him. He might be a bit weirded out by that.

‘Really? That’s good.’

‘Mm. At least now we have a starting point,’ I say.

Levi laughs. ‘That was always what we struggled with, wasn’t it? We used to sit there and puzzle over it for ages!’

‘We did! Remember that time we were sat there, and you were strumming random chords, and I was saying random words for about three hours?’

‘Oh god, yes,’ Levi says, wistfully. ‘You would have thought we would have just thrown the towel in and given up!’

‘I think Matt was trying to get us to be creative,’ I remind him. ‘Didn’t he tell us not to come out of your room until we’d created a song?’

‘I think he did! That boy’s a tyrant, I tell you!’

‘But it worked!’

Levi laughs. ‘It did, but we were exhausted, weren’t we?’ He gives me a significant look.

I blush. ‘Oh noooo! I’d forgotten that!’

‘I hadn’t,’ he says. ‘There I was, innocently sat on the bus, when you suddenly slumped against me, dead to the world!’

I cover my face with my hands. ‘I was so embarrassed when I woke up!’ I tell him, my voice muffled. ‘I felt like crawling under the bus with shame!’

‘At least you weren’t drooling,’ he tells me, giving me a nudge.

‘Yes, but I was singing!’ I say, mournfully, lifting my head.

Levi and I look at each other for one long, heart stopping moment. Then we both burst out laughing.

‘I told you we’d done too much song writing!’ he chuckles. ‘There you were, muttering random words, then you suddenly sang the first line of the song we’d been working on!’

‘I didn’t believe you when I woke up! I thought you were teasing me!’

‘But the expressions of the elderly ladies behind us must have given the truth away,’ Levi reminds me. ‘They looked so shocked!’

I shake my head. ‘How embarrassing.’

‘It made my day!’ Levi tells me. ‘I couldn’t stop laughing about it for hours!’

‘Oh I remember,’ I tell him. ‘We were at rehearsal, and every time we looked at each other, we’d burst out laughing!’

‘Still when I sing that song, I think of that moment, and I have to struggle to hold in the laughs,’ Levi admits. ‘It was just too funny!’

We both sigh, me rubbing my sore ribs, which aren’t used to all this laughing exercise. ‘We had some laughs, it has to be said,’ I murmur, reminiscing over it all.

Levi nods. ‘Yes, we definitely did.’

I look at my watch. We’ve stayed on ten minutes longer than our shift; I completely forgot the time whilst with him.

‘Time to shut up the shop,’ I say, looking over at him.

‘Already?’ he asks, seeming to be as surprised as I am about this. ‘Wow. Well, I’ll do the sign, you lock up?’

‘Sure thing,’ I say, and as we shut it all up, I find myself smiling, feeling that familiar glowing feeling inside, the feeling of being full to the brim with a tingling warmth that I always used to get after being with Levi. Something about it makes me want to either skip down the street or sit down and burst into tears. Seems like I’m getting way too emotional. I think I need to calm down.

Shame that’s so hard when Levi’s around.