Falling Into Whatever This Is

February

"Yeah I think you're an honest type," Levi said to Camilla, facing her, but flicking his eyes between the both of us, as if for approval.

"Yes," I said looking at Levi and then back at Camilla.

"Definitely," Levi repeated. Camilla was really creeped out at that point. She kept looking at us and eventually just laughed.

"You just don't understand us," Levi smiled. It was math class and I had become closer friends with Camilla so now I had someone to sit with without feeling awkward. Nat had moved to sit next to Alec and Levi, Camilla, and I sat in a row. Levi, me, then Camilla.

I was happy that Levi wasn't someone that only talked to you when his friends weren't around. He talked to me all the time; in the hallways or randomly around school.

"Gawsh Camilla, you just don't understand us," I told her sarcastically.

"Eleanor," Alec turned and said to me, "shh."

"Alec, seriously, you need to stop. That's not what she wants to be called, respect it." Levi was not joking around.

"Dude, calm down. I'm just joking around," Alec was looking a little worried at that point. Levi was not someone to mess with.

"If you were joking, you would have stopped when I told you to. The last time," Levi stood up. He must have been at least 2 inches taller than Alec and 5 times stronger.

"Oh really? You wanna go? You wanna go?!" Alec asked, raising his voice, and stood up quickly. The chair flew sideways into Nat as Alec ran around his desk and towards Levi. As Alec rounded the bend, he raised his fist, but before he could throw it Levi caught his fist in the air and grabbed Alec's shirt with his other hand.

"I'm not gonna fight you, but you had better stop messing with Ellie," As he finished, he threw Alec's fist out of his and pushed him back with the hand on his shirt.

Alec just looked at him for a second then shook his head. He looked at Levi then at me and then went back to sit down.

Levi kept standing for a minute and just stared at where Alec had been standing. Then he slowly turned around so his body was facing me and Camilla. I looked at him, concerned because I had never seen that single expression on his face.

It looked like shock and disgust and sadness all rolled into one. It terrified me.

He looked down at me to make eye contact and just stared at me. His facial expression made me feel like my body was slowly being pricked with needles then all at once around my back.

I saw our math teacher take in the scene before him, but he didn't intervene. I thought he knew something that I didn't, but I wasn't sure.

Levi kept staring at me and I kept staring back, my eyes willing him to say something, but he wouldn't. The longer we stared at each other, the more I could see tears welling up in his eyes.

All at once, he turned and walked, not ran, out of the room.

"Mr.-" I started, but our teacher just nodded. So I went. I followed him out of the room and looked down the hallway to see the door closing that led outside. I followed it.

When I got outside, the brisk air of a Pittsburgh winter stung my face and neck, but it didn't matter. I needed to find Levi and fix him. There was a light snow falling and it coated the street. You could see fresh footprints leading into the woods across from the school. I ran as fast as I could to catch up to him.

As I ran across the street the footprints stopped, but there was a path dug through the brush that I could follow. The path was easy to follow, if you were paying attention. The snow made the trees look beautiful and I needed to slow down and take it all in. I had a feeling this forest was where things happened, I just didn't know what.