I think I had stopped moving. Levi was here, leaning against his car in a work suit and tie, and Luna was beside me, calling him her brother, and I was staring. I couldn't stop staring.
"Laken?" Luna asked slowly, coming to stand in front of me. "Are you alright?"
"What did you just say?" I asked instead, staring over her shoulder at Levi, who looked completely unfased by my stunting and Luna's questions. He just looked... beautiful.
"I asked if you were alright..."
I shook my head. "No, before that."
"I asked why you were looking at my brother like that."
I pulled in a tight breath. Brother? Luna was his... What? Why hadn't he told me? He'd come to my apartment, seen where I lived... He knew I lived opposite his sister and didn't say a word!
I walked around Luna, careful not to push her in my determined stride, and right up to Levi. I plastered a sweet, decieving smile on my face as I neared. His eyes were on fire, the flames flicking into the green emeralds of his iris'. His smile was like the gas being poured into the flames.
"Levi," I purred kindly, moving to stand directly in front of him. There was a second of hesitation with him, like he could sense this wasn't really me. I wasn't this open with people. And I took that hesitation as a to-go. I lifted my clenched palm, jerked forward, and punched him in the ribs.
It wasn't hard. In fact, it was pretty poxy. I could do much better- I'd lived in a house of men my whole life- but my aim wasn't to burst his appendix, just to send a message.
A breath surpassed his lips in a small rush with a minute grunt, his eyes shutting briefly. But still, he grinned. "There's the Laken I know." He whispered, standing up straight again. I didn't fail to notice the multiple faces turned towards us.
"That's for lying to me. Why didn't you tell me your sister lived opposite me?" I hissed, taking a step away from him.
"I didn't lie. I never said anything."
"But you avoided the truth." I said instead. "Which, sometimes, is worse than lying."
Levi took a step closer. "Okay, I understand you're mad, but I have good reasons." He reached for my arm, but I shrugged him off instead and crossed my arms over my chest.
"I'd love to hear them."
He shook his head and for a second I swear he looked embarassed. But then he shot it all to hell as he grinned, "Who wants to be known by the embarassing stories their little sister tells? I thought, if you two were to be friends and she told you about me, then I'd be fucked."
I was about to laugh, tell him I'd find them out anyway, when Luna cut in, "Urm, yeah, hey, me again. Don't mean to interupt, but do you guys know eachother?" Levi laughed, while I felt crimson creep into my cheeks as I backed away.
"Barely," I answered, just as Levi said, "Yes."
"Barely," I repeated. "We met under... odd circumstances."
"And now she's in love with me," The way he said the word love, literally stopped my heart. So much so I forgot to glare at him for that remark. I don't know why, but the way he said it in his french accent, and the way his lips curled around the word, made me want to hurl myself at him.
That was not good. Not good at all.
I'd forgotten what we were saying, so distractedly, I rubbed a palm against my forehead and turned to Luna. Figuring Levi was here to take her home, I said "I hope you had a good first day. I've got to get going, so I'll see you when I see you." I waved at her and then turned, not having the guts to say a proper goodbye to Levi.
There was muttering behind me, before Luna shouted, "Hold on a sec, Laken." I turned, watching as they both had a quiet, private argument. "Clearly, the ass has something to say to you, because I have a ride." She held up her hand, a set of black car keys dangling from her middle finger. "He's not even here to see his little sister,"
"Oh," I said, looking pointedly at Levi. "right."
"Yeah," Luna looked between the two of us, her eyebrows drawn in confusion. "Bye." And then she was gone, leaving the two of us behind.
"What are you doing here, Levi?" I asked.
He walked up to me, his towering form making me bend my neck back to look up into his perfectly green eyes. "I came to see you."
"Why?"
He shrugged. A full body shrug that made the muscles in his arms and back more noticeable through the fabric of his black suit.
I shrugged, too, mimicking his stance.
I waited for him to talk. "Coffee." He finally said. "I came to see if you want coffee."
This was it, the oppurtinity to shoot him down, tell him no, sever all ties. But I just... couldn't. Why couldn't I? I needed to.
"I urm... I don't know if I can." I said instead, hiding the turmoil I felt inside.
Levis eyes drooped, his eyebrows dipping slightly. He tried to hide it, but I saw it, and I didn't like that look of disappointment. "Right," He said. "You know, if you don't want to see me anymore..." He shrugged again.
"No!" I began. "No, it's not that. I just... uh." I had nothing to say. What could I? I'm sorry, Levi, but I'm scared that if we keep seeing eachother I'll start to like you, and then, inevitably, one of us will leave or do something and I'll lose you. I don't want to lose you.
"It's fine. Completely fine." He stepped back, pressing a hand to his heart. A tight smile on his face, he joked, "Man, rejection hurts."
Oh, god. "Just coffee?"
Levi nodded. "If that's all you want." Levi muttered, his frame already rising back to his normal cocky stance.
I walked to where he had backed away. "Then lead the way." I said, motioning forward.
And he did.
