Falling Into Whatever This Is

April II

"So tell me...the city. Just the city of Pittsburgh?" Levi asked me. We were still on the hammock and the late afternoon light had slipped beneath the trees and it danced across our faces.

"I haven't been to any other cities...from the research I've done, I think what makes Pittsburgh so amazing is the rivers. I mean, what other cities are surrounded by water?! Mount Washington makes it so much better. Like you can look out and see everything, you know?"

"Yeah." Levi sounded like there was something more that he wanted to say.

"What?" I asked.

"You're my best friend."

Oh shit, I had been friend- zoned.

"Let me rephrase that," he kissed my cheek and told me again. "You're my best friend."

I didn't know if I could say the same thing about him. I was in quite a pickle.

"I-"

"It's okay, I know Addy's yours," he saved me from embarrassment.

"Where are your parents?" I asked him. He hadn't spoken much of them.

"Uhhh I think they're visiting my brother up in Buffalo. They'll be home in a few days. I'm just here with my brother. It's actually really fun... I obviously have a lot more freedom. That's why I'm still here with you," he tapped my nose.

"Are you saying you wouldn't be here if your parents WERE here?" I asked him. His feet pushed the hammock gently back and forth. His feet touched the ground while mine dangled.

He just shrugged so I didn't push it. I closed my eyes and leaned my head on Levi's shoulder to try and take it all in. The birds chirped and the wind rustled the leaves on the branches around us.

"One day, I'm gonna take you to Mount Washington so we can look out on the city together." Levi broke the silence.

"I'd like that...but someday. I don't wanna go too fast," I explained.

"It's okay, Ellie. We're in 8th grade, I understand," he told me and didn't move.

"You like reading, right? Of course you do. I love Harry Potter and I have a craving for it right about now, what do you say?"

Yep, i'd found him. The fanboy.

"Are you serious?! Yes of course!"

"Here." He moved his arm out from under me and went over to a small box I hadn't noticed before. "I have all of them right here."

"Let's read The Sorcerer's Stone, it's my favorite." I told him as he walked over and handed the book to me.

I read the first 10 chapters before the sunlight was too dim for me to read any longer and my stomach was grumbling so loudly I couldn't focus.

"Levi, Levi," I said, shaking him. "Wake up!"

"Oh sorry, Ellbud. I love the way you read, I had to close my eyes." I think it was the sleep showing, but he grabbed the back of my neck and pushed my mouth to his. They never touched, though. I held back a small gasp as Levi exhaled onto me. He slipped his face past mine and laid on the side of my neck.

"You're so amazing, Ellie." he said to me in a whisper.

I couldn't hold myself back any longer so I finally allowed myself to let the tears fall.