Where the Butterflies Hide

*}|{*Chapter Four*}|{*

Levi's alarm echoed loudly through the silent room, but Levi was already awake. He found that the more he thought about Claire, the more sleep eluded him. Restless with anticipation, he flung the covers off of his body and walked over to his closet where he proceeded to shed his pajamas and put on a grey t-shirt and basketball shorts. As he laced up his sneakers on the porch steps of his house, he observed the lazy sun's rays slightly lighting up the sky from the east. He started his same jogging routines he'd been following for years, avoiding the most stop signs and traffic lights by running around the quiet neighborhoods and taking a shortcut back through the woods to start getting ready for school. His friends loved to tease him about waking up and what they considered an ungodly hour to exercise, but Levi enjoyed the feeling of his blood pumping through his veins and throbbing in his ears as his muscles stretched and woke from a decent nights rest.

After almost three miles, Levi turned the corner and started down the last leg of his run. As he passed the older and more decrepit houses, he frowned at the waste of properties, pausing at one of the houses in particular to examine it closer. Brown patchy grass on the lawn begged for the earth's rain to keep it alive, moss and mold had pushed fourth from the cracked walls, as though the house itself needed to be watered. The roof sagged like the earth was a magnet pulling it into the center, and the whole structure looked so fragile, it would crumble to dust with a gentle breeze. Every quiet house on this block was the same with varying degrees of decay.

A loud thud! Made Levi jump and whirl at the sound. One of the doors a few houses down had slammed loudly against a beam supporting the porch roof and for a second as the house shook, he was certain the entire structure would collapse. When the rumble settled, he saw someone walk out of one of the houses with a large garbage bag in tow. It wasn't until he saw the wisps of blonde hair that he made his feet move towards Claire. He watched silently for a minute as she struggled to lift the heavy bag into the garbage can in front of her. Clearing his throat gently as not to startle her he quietly asked, "Do you need some help?"

Claire whirled around at the sound of a familiar male voice, her eyes widening as she took in Levi's form at the end of her driveway. "What are you doing here?" he asked as she quickly threw her hood up to cover the huge bruise forming on the side of her face, right under her left cheekbone.

"I always come this way for my morning run. Sorry if I startled you, I thought you might need help." He said calmly. This girl was an enigma, and the more time her spent around her just puzzled him farther.

"Oh." Claire replied. Oh? That was all she could think to say to him?! C'mon Claire, make words actually come out of your mouth! As Claire fumbled for her next words, Levi smiled slightly and bent to pick up the large garbage bag that rested at her feet. "Oh it's ok I got it." Claire said and bent the same time Levi rose, their foreheads colliding roughly, and Claire's hood fell from her head as she fell ungracefully on her bum.

"Oh I'm so sorry are you okay?" Levi asked concerned, offering a hand to help her up which she gladly took.

"Thanks, I'm fine...are you?" Claire responded weakly.

Levi smiled, rapping his knuckles lightly on his head a few times. "Yea I, uh, have a thick skull." He looked slightly flustered.

"Oh, well that's...um...fortunate?" Claire responded, feeling more and more like an idiot with every word that passed her lips.

Levi laughed "Yea, well it definetly comes in handy with football. I swear the guys tackle me even when we aren't practicing!" Claire let a small smile grace her lips as the image came to her. It was quite funny in her head "And Josh is the worst! He so should just-" He froze midsentence. He was staring at her intensely.